Happiest Place on Earth Or NOT!
by ETNRL4L
Summary: Drabble Series. This is my fan service to all those who read, review & favorite my work. We will follow the group's summer vacation in Orlando, Florida. Hilarity & romance will abound! Gwevin & Benlie. Please Read & Review!
1. Dysfunctional Family Gatherings

**A/N: Okay! This is my reward to everyone who reviewed and/or favorited 'College Road Trip'. This is going to be interesting- to say the least! ROFL! I don't know how often I will update this, but several of these are already thought up. They will not be in chronological order after this first one. They are truly random in every sense. Remember, reviews drive me!**

**Anyone who reads and enjoys this fic has the following fellow readers to thank for bringing it to you: Sammyantha221, Miss Levin Lover (I love you, Sam!), SoNoEcho, Dark Shining Light, Bengal Princess, Marie. Blue , Laser Lance 720, luna snow demon, ParamoreXO, The Indian Princess and Ro Montenegro. These are all the wonderful folks who either reviewed or favorited College Road Trip and made this drabble possible. Thank you, my friends!**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

The raven-haired teenager engaged the autopilot and swerved around in his seat. He stared at the door to the cargo hold with a grimace. He was technically their host while they were all aboard his ship. He had to check in on them. Regardless how much he wanted the theory of natural selection not to be total bull so that it could run its course in there until they all exterminated each other. He let out an exasperated breath and unfastened his safety belt hesitantly. He really didn't want to deal with this soap opera.

He wished his mother had agreed to come along. At least then, he'd have the same kind of support _they_ all had in this little drama. He understood her hesitation, though. She felt like a third wheel. They were all couples- in spite of what the older generation in that cargo hold was endeavoring to accomplish presently. She was also too old to just, experience this with infantile mirth. She'd made the concession that she would happily come along when she had grandchildren to enjoy the experience through.

The Osmosian had sworn to himself he'd make that happen for her as soon as he and Gwen were ready for it. After all, he was well aware of the rather large part he'd played in the demise of his mother's second marriage to Harvey. What kind of man wanted a woman with the kind of baggage his mother carried? A psychotically violent, half-human, half-alien child with unsuppressed anger and abandonment issues that he hadn't even engendered, was exactly what every guy wanted when he married!

For sure, if his mother wanted grandkids to spoil in Walt Disney World, he would provide them for her happily. He just added this to the ever-growing list of things he owed his mother for what he put her through as a boy.

The eighteen year old rubbed his hands briskly over his face to drown out the guilt and got up to enter the cargo hold. He'd considered the idea of all of them driving to their destination in a caravan. That way everyone was in his or her own vehicle and the forced interaction currently taking place, would've been moot. However, he discarded the notion as too cumbersome. It would take them days to arrive and they would be unable to enjoy their stay for as long.

He really wanted this shared experience for himself and his friends. This was the last summer before Julie, he and Gwen went off to college. Ben was heading for South Dakota to set up a headquarters from which he could focus on hero work full-time with the help of the Plumbers at the Mount Rushmore base. They were all heading off in different directions and he wanted one last big bash before everyone went their separate ways.

Hence, he was flying them and their parents to Florida for a week of fun, relaxation and mischief. The dark teenager laughed humorlessly to himself before opening the door to his awaiting torment.

He really had no idea how his best friend had never noticed the level of animosity his girlfriend's father held toward him. The man was anything but subtle about it. The kid really was oblivious.

Then there was Natalie. Oh, so passive aggressive Natalie Tennyson…

That woman actually considered it sport to try poisoning her daughter against him. Was it considered matricide if it wasn't your own mother you murdered? Then again, that might not be an issue if his girlfriend achieved the intent the look she was shooting at her mother was communicating as the oldest teenager walked in to the cargo hold. Whatever the topic of conversation he intruded upon was- it was decidedly angering the Anodyte.

They were all in airline style seats he'd set up for them just for this occasion and the oldest ginger was addressing her sister-in-law who sat next to her with unabridged disapproval. "Honestly Sandra, I don't understand how you're so comfortable with your boy not going to college. He's practically throwing his future away." The superiority in her voice was palpable.

As the oldest teenager looked on, he saw Carl shoot a pleading look at his brother, who just shrugged at a loss. _He_ didn't have any say over the crap the redhead said!

The wielder of the Ultimatrix's mother narrowed her eyes icily at the snob beside her. "Ben is doing much more important work where he's going than if he were to go to a University, Lily. We raised our son to find his own path in life and we are proud of the wonderful young man he's turning out to be."

There was an audible scoff from Mr. Yamamoto. "Mothers have such lovingly unperceptive eyes!"

Julie put a hand on her father's arm reproachingly. "Daddy!"

Carl instantly rounded on the man, though he was too far down the isle of seats to get a good look at from his vantage point. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

The Japanese man didn't bother turning his head as he spoke in his thick accent. He knew the other man was too far to make eye contact. "It means that you are too close to see your son objectively, with all due respect; just look at the way he treats my Julie… going off to play hero, while she goes off to study. He doesn't care what happens to her. He just wants to be rid of her and do his own thing! _That's_ your _wonderful young man_! Now, Levin there," the Asian man nodded at Kevin, "he's willing to do anything for _his_ girl. _That's_ real devotion!"

"Don't drag me into this, Dude!" The older teen sounded agonized. Why exactly did he come in here again?

Ben didn't let either his father or girlfriend answer, though they both released dismayed gasps. He unbuckled his seat belt and stood next to Kevin in order to retort heatedly. "Mr. Yamamoto, I have to do this! I'm the only one who can wear the Ultimatrix and I have a responsibility to protect everyone who needs me! College isn't for everybody! Your daughter is pre-med; she wants to join the professional tour for as long as she's young enough to do it… Julie _wants_ to have her own life and very well deserves to. Kevin can take me to see her whenever I get a chance. Not to mention, I can fly! Long distance is not that big of a deal for us. Our relationship is always going to be tough! My entire life isn't exactly a cakewalk! However, I'm willing to stick it out for as long as she is! I need her more than anything!" He finished with a loving look at his little Asian American who was smiling brightly back at him from her seat between her father and mother.

Natalie's sarcastic laughter brought everyone's attention back to her. "Wait! Do you mean to tell me that you _want_ your daughter to have her very own _stalker_? Don't be ridiculous, Yamamoto!"

The younger teen was glad he was up and out of his chair so that he could put a halting hand on his best friend's arm when he saw him jerk towards his aunt at that one. What exactly did he intend to do? He couldn't hurt her. Then again, the punch he received in the arm from the frustrated Osmosian was a clear indication of how badly the boy wanted to.

He yelped and immediately brought a hand up to rub at the forming bruise, shooting furious daggers at his friend. "God! Kevin, I'm not even the one you're pissed at!" Instinctively, the brunette shot out a fist that connected with his best friend's shoulder blade just as bruisingly.

Kevin was unprepared for both the impact and the force of it. When had Tennyson gotten this strong? He hissed at the pain in his upper back briefly before turning to retaliate. Ben was already in a defensive stance.

Gwen's raised voice, however, stopped them before either of their raised fists made contact. They turned to see she'd crossed her arms and was staring at them with open disappointment from her seat. "Are you kidding, guys? You're both above that! Don't let them get to you! This trip is for _us_!"

Both boys dropped their hands and chorused sheepishly, "Sorry, Gwen."

Sandra spoke up in an effort to mend the peace between the friends. "You should be apologizing to each other, not to Gwen."

Both boys shot horrified looks at her then turned to each other. They immediately burst into laughter. The brunette spoke up in response to his mother's request. "Yeah. Not happening, Mom."

The Osmosian shaking his head with an evil smirk while crossing his arms adamantly over his chest chorused that sentiment.

The blonde slumped in her chair slightly disappointed that the boys hadn't apologized, but happy, nonetheless, they were obviously still on good terms. She stiffened again at the grating sound of her sister-in-law's voice. She wasn't bothering to veil the venom in it whatsoever. "Well what did you expect, dear? Your nonsensical, new-age mumbo-jumbo isn't going to fix the horrid manners of a juvenile delinquent or seventeen years of not raising your child properly."

Carl's eyes snapped furiously to his brother. "Seriously, Frank! Rein her in!"

Sandra was no longer even registering her husband's voice at this point. "That's it, you arrogant…" Ben launched himself at his mother to detangle her hands from around his aunt's throat. His uncle was frantically trying to help.

Julie's parents were both leaning forward to look at the ridiculous scene and laughing while their daughter looked on in horror.

Gwen just rubbed the bridge of her nose before sending a tortured, pleading look up at her boyfriend. He returned the look, only his eyes reflected dismayed grief as he raked a disgruntled hand through his hair. He quickly turned and retreated into the cockpit.

Upon reaching the controls, he disengaged the autopilot and gunned it for Orlando. He had to get those lunatics separated… NOW!

Happiest place on earth… his sculpted Osmosian…

This group was definitely going to test_ that_ slogan!

**A/N: Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! *Wipes Tears* Can you people believe, this is the shortest thing I've ever written for a fic! I would tell you the others will be shorter, but the first installment is already written and it's actually _longer_! LOL! (I can't help myself) How do you like the insane dynamic I've established for the in-law generation? And yes, I totally see Julie getting into medicine. She screams doctor!**

**Please Review! It will get you more of this insanity sooner! **


	2. Impromptu Enema

**A/N: For my first act… Let's torture Ben! This is my favorite slide in my favorite water park. **

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

Ben loved water parks.

What wasn't there to love? There was water, falling at unbelievable speeds and who could forget his undeniably hot Asian girlfriend in a tankini that left very little to the imagination.

Ben freaking loved water parks!

The two teenage couples along with Ben's folks had shuttled to Blizzard Beach after having breakfast with the other parents in the morning. The other set of older couples decided to spend the day at the spa and golfing, respectively. Therefore, here the four teens were on a ski lift in a water park- in Florida- in ninety-degree weather, making its way up a man made mountain of plastic snow that was intended to appear to be melting into the different cascades that made up the park. Only Disney 'Imagineers' could think this stuff up! Their destination was the highest water slide in the world… Summit Plummet.

This monster plunged anyone full hearty and reckless enough to venture upon it down twelve stories almost completely vertically at fifty to sixty miles per hour!

The wielder of the Ultimatrix wanted to go on it the moment he saw it from the bus- several miles before arriving at the park. His parents, however, were sagely waving and snapping pictures at his maniacally smiling face as he ascended the precipice with his friends from the safety of the ground. His girlfriend was giggling at his quaking enthusiasm and his cousin smirked and shook her head at him. His best friend, oddly, just kept eying him with a suspicious evil grin adorning his features. Ben chose to ignore the psycho's dementia. He was way too wired to care what the madman was grinning at.

Gwen looked down at the base of the slide and saw a girl in a string bikini get up shrieking from her plummet. Her bottom had come untied during the fall and everyone was laughing at her as she frantically tried to find and tie both ends at her side. The red head shuddered and adjusted her own tankini turning to her boyfriend. He'd strongly admonished both her and Julie ahead of time how imperative it was they _not_ wear a two-piece if they were going on _this _slide. It was something some 'acquaintance' of his in Florida had advised him. Apparently, this woman knew many things about this place.

She eyed the Osmosian analytically. "Kevin, how exactly do you know this 'friend' of yours in Florida, who gives you all these tips about the parks?

The older teen turned away from plotting against the brunette in order to lock eyes with his redhead mirthfully. "Jealous much, Gwen?"

The ginger blew an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes, turning her face away from his and over the edge of the lift once more.

Kevin chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. She attempted to pull way, but she had neither the leverage nor the space to accomplish the feat in the confining lift. He placed a kiss to her temple before replying. "She's almost old enough to be my mother…if she'd made some terrible choices in her early teens and believe me that all the intel she's provided is _priceless_. Just wait fifteen minutes and you'll see." He sent her such a devious look once her eyes shot up to meet his, she couldn't help but smile back.

Once at the top of the amusing little lift, the friends learned the mountain peak actually diverged into two separate slides. One was roughly two stories shorter and undulated. It also had two slopes, which allowed two people to race each other down. The other was their desired target. However, they had to climb two stories of winding metal stairs in a line of other eager 'plummeters' to reach it.

The sign at the beginning of the stairs said it was only ten minutes to climb, so they all decided to take the plunge. Ben was literally jumping about excitedly, holding his girlfriend around the waist every time there was a lag in the upward motion of the line. "This is going to be so awesome! The last time I came to a water park, I was too short to go on the really good slide, so Gwen left me behind… Then I turned into Greymatter to sneak in and got kidnapped by a psychotic U.F.O. enthusiast…"

The Asian American turned to him laughing. She had to dissect that one. "Wait! What? You and Gwen are the exact same age and you're a guy. How were _you_ too small to go on the slide and she wasn't?"

His ever-loyal best friend cut in before he could reply using less humiliating verbiage. "Ben was the shortest ten year old ever, Julie! Honestly, when I met him I thought he was a little person or something." The Osmosian ignored the hole burning into his scull by emerald eyes, continuing mockingly, "Come to think of it, he's pretty freaking short for a seventeen year old! Seriously, if you weren't Japanese, you'd probably be taller than him!"

"Bite me, Kevin! I'm not that short! I'm taller than Gwen!"

"Congratulations! You're a dude who's taller than a girl! Whoopy! Seriously! I think the only reason you look so cut shirtless is 'cause all the muscle is scrunched up into that tiny torso of yours!" Even Gwen muffled a laugh at her cousin's expense after that one, although she turned and hit him playfully on the shoulder reprimandingly. What could she say? Her boyfriend was hilarious!

The Savior of the Universe decided to turn that statement on his friend, however. He brought his giggling girlfriend closer and mock whispered in her ear. "You hear that Julie? Kevin's noticed how cut I am. He's been checking me out. I think he wants to steal me away from you."

Both girls erupted into unbridled laughter at the look of sheer revulsion that instantly struck the Osmosian's face. They clutched their sides painfully when he started making retching sounds and spitting over the railing. "That's not right, Dude! Oh, God! You guys are all on your own for lunch after this!"

The little exchange was so entertaining that they had gotten to the top of the slide already and there were only two people ahead of them. Noticing this, Kevin pulled his redhead close, whispering in her ear. "Okay Gwen, you go first, then Julie, then Tennyson. Now, there's a very special bit of information you need to know when sliding down this particular slide that my friend told me about. As you start going down… it's imperative that you, um… clench."

The redhead turned a perfectly arched questioning eyebrow at him and spoke just as tacitly. "Clench what?"

Her boyfriend bit his bottom lip in an effort to stifle the chuckle the notion of explain this to her invoked. He swallowed visibly and spoke with humor in his voice. "Come on! You know all about physics. What do you think happens when you scrape your butt at sixty miles an hour on water that can't possibly move as fast?"

Both Gwen's eyebrows shot up in realization and she started snickering. She hadn't really thought about it, but a lot of the people at the bottom of the slide did look slightly uncomfortable when they came off. She felt her boyfriend's mouth against her ear again. "Oh, and another thing- pull the wedgy out while you're still sitting at the bottom in the water. You're _my_ girl. I don't want you putting on a show for every guy down there."

She turned fully to send him a flattered smile and he took the opportunity to place a quick kiss on her nose. "Tell Julie about the clenching thing quickly, but don't tell her about the wedgy thing. We're going to torture your cousin and he deserves to at least get a nice show before it happens. I'm going to pretend to tell him something so she thinks he's in the clear."

Gwen smirked deviously up at him and jumped up to peck him on the lips before pulling Julie aside and whispering in her ear. The Osmosian threw an arm up around the shoulders of his best friend just as the teen looked about ready to complain about having his girlfriend's presence usurped, when they heard Julie's exclamation. "Oh my God! Ouch!"

The brunette shot a worried look at his girlfriend but relaxed when she started laughing. He regarded the older teen quizzically. "What's so funny?"

The Osmosian whispered conspiratorially, smirking. Both their girlfriends were now looking at them. The show was on. "Oh it's just a joke I just told Gwen about enemas."

Ben pulled away from him both amused and horrified. "Ouch! Dude that is so not right!"

His girlfriend was by his side giggling. "I know, right? That has got to hurt!"

Ben threw an arm over her and shook his head in Kevin's direction. He spoke with such reproach. "I'm telling you, Julie. There is seriously something wrong with this man!" She looked at him with a bit of confusion. "Huh?"

Gwen jumped in distractingly. "Okay guys! I'm up! Julie you go after me, okay?" She waited for her friend to nod excitedly than sat on the base at the top of the slide. She crossed her arms over her chest in an 'X' as the operator instructed and she was off screaming in delight all the way down. Once at the bottom she cringed at the painful wedgy before pulling it out and stood to wave excitedly at her friends at the top, though she couldn't see them.

Ben was jumping with excitement again. "You next, Julie!"

Julie took her turn and screamed delightedly as she splashed down the slide as well. Ben was about to sit for his turn when his friend grabbed his arm. "You have to see Julie's whole slide, Man."

Ben looked over the side curiously at his girlfriend who was splashing down at the base of the slide. She got up awkwardly as if pained and immediately the brunette's eyes shot to the size of saucers. The entirety of the Asian American's tankini bottom was wedged between her butt cheeks and she was trying to dig the fabric out. It was one of the best things the younger teen had ever seen! "Ah Dude! That is awesome!" He turned to his best friend, who was pointedly avoiding looking down at the base of the slide. "You knew that was going to happen, didn't you? Have I told you, you're the coolest friend ever?"

Had Kevin been a better person, he would actually feel remorse at hearing those words. As it stood, however… "Yes, Tennyson, I am. Your turn!" This was followed by a darkly disturbed chortle.

Ben instantly sat at the top of the slide and watched the running water drench his swim trunks. He followed the instructions of the operator and crossed his surprisingly muscled arms over his well-defined chest. Within seconds, he was off down the slide…

The free-fall was everything Ben expected and he let out an excited squeal that started out very different from how it ended.

"WEEEEEEEAAAAAAAWWWOOOOOOWWW!"

When the Savior of the Universe reached the bottom of the slide… let's just say- everyone in the park knew he'd made it.

"OH GOD! IT'S INSIDE ME! I'VE BEEN SODOMIZED! OH GOD! IT'S COMING OUT MY BUTT! I THINK I HAVE DIARRHEA! OUT OF MY WAY!"

The only thing louder than Ben's pained proclamation as he ran for the men's room, was Kevin's thundering laughter at the top of Summit Plummet.

**A/N: This is a painfully true reenactment of what happened to me on this slide. I didn't know that if you didn't tighten your sphincter, you got an impromptu enema! It was so much fun after that first time, though! LOL! And yes, you do get wedgies and it is my experience that the smaller your too-piece, the more likely you are to loose it during the fall.**

**Please Review! **


	3. Beastly

**I have no idea what happened here! This was supposed to be a super short Gwevin fluff based off a live show in Magic Kingdom for my favorite ©Disney movie and it turned into mostly Benlie! Anyone who knows me even slightly by now, knows that I don't truly control my brain. I apologize for the diminishing quality in these. I'm having trouble keeping my inspiration as of late...**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

"Everyone stop! We have to see this." The Anodyte pulled vigorously on her boyfriend's hand, guiding him in the direction of the amphitheater. "This is my all-time favorite Disney movie!"

The Osmosian paled slightly upon noting the beautiful sign with the name and schedule of the shows, but kept a detached expression. However, he was forced to grimace at the shriek that resounded from the little Japanese American girl holding on to his best friend's arm in response, once she turned and noticed the attraction that had so captured her ginger friend's attention. "Oh my God! For sure!"

She turned to squeal excitedly at the three older couples that had continued walking past the seemingly red rose embroidered building, failing to notice the brunette bring his pinky up to wring out his aching ear drum. "Mom, Dad, guys! We're watching this show! Come on!"

Upon arriving at the entrance, the older generation scanned the billing. Natalie couldn't help but laugh introspectively. "Oh Frank! You remember how she made you go out at midnight to buy this movie for her! She must've burned out the DVD player watching it!"

Mrs. Yamamoto chorused the sentiment with a wink and nod at her own daughter. "She knows all the songs by heart. You watch. She'll be singing along with all the actors!"

This caused the teen Asian American to blush furiously. "Mom!"

Ben wrapped an arm around her as they walked into the theater and pulled out his phone, laughing mockingly. "Oh, I'm so recording you the second you start singing. It'll be great blackmail material! If you ever do anything I don't like, it's going on YouTube!"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix was rewarded with a sharp elbow to his ribcage and a furious glare from dark hazel almond eyes. "Do you really want to start comparing each other's collection of recorded embarrassments, Ben. 'Cause I can assure you that I will come out the overwhelming victor in that competition. I have enough stuff on you to make you a laughing stock in the public's eye for a good year. You don't want to mess with me!"

Anxiety flitted briefly across the emerald in the brunette's eyes before the color darkened and he pulled the slightly enraged girl into an unexpected embrace, whispering heatedly in her ear. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you threaten me? I'd _love_ to mess with you!"

A furious blush raced up her neck and into her cheeks and she found she couldn't swallow. She hated how he managed to do this to her whenever she got peeved at him! She pushed against him and found that he relinquished his hold on her remarkably without any resistance. She looked up slightly surprised and found him smiling suggestively and undeniably smugly down at her.

That vain, arrogant… He knew exactly what he was doing to her!

She huffed out an indignant breath and stumped past the other four couples hurriedly, leaving the infuriating chestnut haired teen and everyone else in her periphery. She was not going to let him get the upper hand, so she made a big show of how mad he'd supposedly managed to make her. She could see her father glaring at her boyfriend as she passed- served him right to have to deal with her dad's poor opinion of him!

The moment she knew she was out of everyone's line of vision, however, the flattered smile that spread across her features could have lit up the entire arena.

She sat down all the way at the end of an aisle in the stadium-like complex and watched as her entourage entered, the older couples choosing to sit in the isle directly in front. Her father and boyfriend were still so engrossed in a staring contest, that she managed to quickly pull her Anodyte friend down next to her and lock arms with her. The redhead shot an impressed eyebrow up at her and they both giggled conspiratorially.

Kevin shot a quick glance at his distracted best friend and raced to sit next to his girlfriend, chuckling evilly. He wrapped an arm around his redhead's shoulder as the brunette finally started making his way towards them, as oblivious as ever to their conniving. He looked over her head at the tiny giggling ebony. "Remind me never to get you angry, Julie." His response was a wink and renewed giggles.

"Aww! Come on! Where am _I_ supposed to sit?" All the adult couples turned to look back at the whining pitch and volume Ben's voice achieved. His mother, of course, offered kindly. "Oh, sweetie! You can sit next to me and your dad!"

Ben didn't turn to look at her for fear of insulting her with the half mortified, half disgusted look that warped his face instantly at her hospitality. Instead, he tried to keep his growing frustration in check as he turned slightly in her direction, gritting out. "No thank you, Mom. The guys are going to scoot over and I'm going to sit next to Julie…" Even in his compromised situation, his obvious arrogance colored his tone.

"No you're not." The statement had such an indisputable ring of finality to it that it made a knot form in his throat. The way she crossed her arms, staring ahead at the stage as if he wasn't standing directly in front of her, didn't exactly augur well for him either. "There's space next to Kevin."

Was it his imagination, or did the inflection of her voice change completely when she was vindictive?

Wow! Was_ that_ ever sexy! Horribly humiliating when it happened in front of everyone he knew, but appealing nonetheless!

As enthralling as Ben found this, the show was starting and he needed to go into desperation mode to get on her good side fast. He kneeled beside her in the isle stairway on the balls of his feet and whispered in her ear. "Please Julie! I'll do anything you want! I'm attracting attention! I really don't want to be swamped here!"

His girlfriend pretended everyone in both their families wasn't looking at her and steeled her resolve. She couldn't let him walk all over her. She shifted her cold hazel eyes at him, answering flippantly. "Sing every song with me and I'll let you sit here. We both know you know them all too, Ben. Don' t pretend!"

He blanched. It wasn't as if he didn't actually _know_ these songs. These were classics, for God's sake! No. His mortification stemmed from a completely different vein… He was fairly sure he was tone deaf! What was she trying to do to him?

The Osmosian started laughing so disproportionately uncontrollably, Natalie sent him a dirty look. The raven-haired teen completely ignored it. "God, Julie! Have I ever told you how much I like you?"

Wise enough to never miss a golden opportunity, Mr. Yamamoto pitched, "Ask her out, then!"

All heads jerked in the Japanese man's direction with seemingly every single emotion imaginable splayed across them- disgust, humor, mortification, disapproval, outrage, anger, horror…the list seemed to be morphing and evolving the longer they stared at him until finally, "What! It is wishful thinking!" _That_ didn't really help matters any.

What _did_ help was the fact that the lights dimmed, a spotlight lit the center of the stage and the opening score to Beauty and The Beast began to play. This sent Ben into subjugation mode. "Alright, alright! I'll do anything! Let me sit down! Please!" He sent the most pathetic puppy dog look at his girlfriend.

Julie took on a contemplative countenance briefly as if deciding whether to dignify his request, then turned and smiled triumphantly at the boy's cousin who smile back and shoved against her boyfriend, signaling him to move over. He didn't budge. She turned to find him smirking deviously at his own best friend. "I vote we leave 'im in the aisle."

The brunette narrowed his eyes dangerously at him in return. He was so going to drown the bastard in the pool at the hotel tonight for this! His cousin, thankfully, came to his mercy, shoving harshly against the Osmosian with her whole body. She couldn't use her powers for fear of garnishing unwanted attention. "Grow up, Kevin! The show is starting! I don't want to miss this!"

When he still didn't move, she pushed so hard that she lost her leverage against his side and ended up falling into his lap. Ben immediately sat next to Julie at the end of the aisle and wrapped his arms around her waist gratefully. Kevin, on the other hand, used this fortuitous turn of events to lock his arms around Gwen, effectively preventing her escape from her sitting position on his lap. She looked anything but happy when she locked eyes with him. Her displeasure was evident in her voice as she gestured behind them. "I'm not sitting on your lap during the show, Kevin. It's too distracting and we're blocking other people's view."

Technically, this wasn't true since it was mid week, this was the first show of the day and there was no one in the row of seats behind them. However, there were children in the rows higher up and she didn't want to disrupt innocent eyes with whatever her boyfriend's twisted mind divined while having her on his lap.

The raven-haired teen followed her line of vision and saw the many children who populated the higher rows. Some of them were pointing, laughing and commenting to their parents about the funny silly man sitting his wife on his lap. Yeah! He definitely was _not_ going to conscience _that_! He stood quickly with Gwen still in his arms and deposited her neatly next to him. She rewarded him with a grateful peck on the cheek and leaned into his chest, watching the play.

The further the plot progressed, the more uncomfortable Kevin grew. He hated this movie! An overwhelming part of him was grateful when his redhead became so engrossed; she pulled away and clutched at Julie instead. As long as his girlfriend was distracted, she was incapable of noticing how he grimaced when the Japanese American made the comment about how much he would look like Gaston if he had longer hair. To which the Anodyte had replied that he was much better looking. Not to mention, he would have died of mortification if any of them noticed the look of genuine hurt that warped his features when Ben had retorted mockingly that in his opinion, he favored The Beast so much more, which had garnered laughs from all but him. Truth be told… he agreed with his best friend- regardless of what he looked like.

Halfway through the show he could no longer take the comments, unbeknownst and unintentionally hurtful as they might be. He felt suffocated seating there. Therefore, he discreetly separated himself without disturbing the rest of the group.

Gwen's favorite part was coming. The villager's were storming the castle and the big fight scene between The Beast and Gaston was coming up next. She reached next to her to grab Kevin's hand excitedly but only groped empty air. Her head snapped to the spot on the aluminum bench next to her where her boyfriend was supposed to be seated in a slight panic. She instantly took a deep breath and concentrated on the manna signature that had become almost as familiar to her as her own. Her eyes glowed magenta but briefly, before she looked up to the very top bleachers in the amphitheater. At the very end of the row where no one could possibly see him, sat her displaced Osmosian apparently texting on his phone.

She quickly slid around behind the very distracted Ben and Julie and made her way up the aisle stairway to join him. She sat next to him, regarding him in mock annoyance and etching her voice with acute sarcasm. "It's always flattering when 'Angry Birds' ranks higher with your own boyfriend than you do."

The Osmosian didn't bother moving his eyes away from his game, nor did he check the extraneously cold pitch to his voice. "Go back and finish watching your show, Gwen."

After two years of dealing with the moody teenager, the Anodyte knew better than to take much of what he said at face value. Even a child could see that he was trying to anger her in an effort to keep her at arms length. Something was obviously bothering him and since he was adamantly opposed to willingly communicate feelings, the ginger resigned to ignore his obvious distress until he decided to acknowledge her willingness to help.

If he was going to be infantile…

"I want you to come and watch the end with me. It's my favorite part!" She said this wrapping her arms around his muscled abdomen and adding a girlish inflection to her voice that made her sound very much like a little girl asking her daddy for candy.

Kevin couldn't help look up at this. The plead in the voice she'd used tugged at his heart and he absolutely loved whenever she held him. God! Did she know the power she held over him? His eyes went to the stage and he saw that the fight scene was transpiring. He immediately averted his eyes. However, he didn't meet hers as he spoke so tacitly, it could have been her imagination that he'd spoken at all. "I can't watch this."

Gwen moved one of her arms up his back soothingly and began first twirling the long hair at the nape of his neck between her fingers, then raking her fingers through his hair. She made sure to graze her nails on his scalp as she went, which elicited an appreciative moan from the raven-haired teen who'd closed his eyes at the feeling. Once she had him thoroughly relaxed, she ventured, "Why can't you watch this, Kev?"

He didn't open his eyes to respond but tilted his head in her direction and his prominent brow furrowed as if he was pained. "This hits way too close to home for us, Gwen… the whole beautiful princess saving the evil monster bit?" He let out a sarcastic huff and relaxed into the hand she'd brought up to caress his cheek encouragingly. "Only problem is, we both know the story doesn't end 'happily ever after'- does it, Gwen? We know better than this romanticized version intended for kids. _We_ know that regardless what I look like on the outside- I can always become a monster again. It's what's inside me… my very nature…" He finished in almost a whisper. The veracity of the statement didn't make it hurt less.

Despite not knowing where this negativity and self loathing was stemming from, the Anodyte was not about to sit around and allow him to wallow in this little pit of self-pity he'd dug for himself. Without presage, she moved forward and captured his lips with hers while tangling her fingers tightly through the raven locks at the base of his neck and pulling.

The raven-haired teen jolted at the abruptness of her brazen move, the pleasurable sensation that shot through him at having her kissing him while pulling his hair and the immediate surge of panic that swelled within him at the particular audience in the place she'd chosen to do this to him. His eyes snapped open and he grudgingly pulled his lips away from hers breathlessly to find her staring up at him with a knowing smile. He frowned, unable to keep the recrimination out of his voice as he whispered harshly, "What happened to not corrupting the little kids, Gwen! What's wrong with you?"

The red head giggled lightly as she began stroking his cheek lovingly again. " Look around, Kevin! You ran away to the nosebleeds and all the little ones are entranced by the show. No one can see us up here and you really sounded like you needed a pick me up." She cooed him, pouting adorably.

Kevin's onyx eyes stopped his quick scan of their immediate area and instantly shot to her mouth once she pouted. She noticed the hungry darkened gleam in them and evaded his attempt to bite her lower lip with an evil smirk. Instead, she pecked him softly on the lips and looked deep in his eyes before speaking as truthfully as she could muster. "If it _is_ your nature to be a monster than I will always be the heroine that saves you from yourself."

As emotionally crippled and immature as Kevin Levin was- there was simply no way he could reconcile the emotion that swelled in his chest at her incredibly sincere heartfelt words in that moment. Therefore, he did the two things that did come naturally to him. First, he mocked her, letting out a scoff. "That is so unbelievably cheesy!"

Second, the instant her understandably scandalized jaw dropped at his unbelievable ludicrousness in mocking _that_, he lunged for her mouth and wrapped his arms around her in a suffocating embrace. In the end, the gesture had the desired effect. Not only did Gwen completely forget what she was about to get angry with him about, he was able to communicate perfectly what her loving words meant to him.

Ten minutes later the show was over and everyone was filing out of the arena. Julie turned to Ben and gave him a quick peck on the lips before her parents turned to get up and leave along with Gwen's and his. She tried to keep the humor out of her voice. "Remind me never to make you sing again. You do know there's more than one note on the scale, right?"

The brunette ignored the snickers and comments from the older couples on his vocal talents as he answered. "Whatever, at least I got to sit next to you. Besides, I'm already famous. I don't need a singing career. Now, Kevin," a sinister smirk crept onto his face, "You gotta here _him_ sing. We should get him on American Idol or something! Right, Gwen!"

All eyes scanned the area where the ginger had been sitting with the Osmosian. Her parents shut up off the bench and looked recriminatingly at their nephew. He shrugged in response. "Maybe they got bored and left early."

As fortune would have it, a general beacon from the Plumbers went off on Ben's Ultimatrix that instant, which two beeps echoed almost immediately somewhere further up on the bleachers. All eight sets of eyes followed the sound to the owners of the badges that were emitting the unique sound. However, said owners were far too distracted in their current undertaking to notice their new audience.

All the ushers in the amphitheater and possibly even some of the actors backstage, were soon compelled to look at the couple once Natalie's mortified vociferation rang through the theater. "Gwedolyn Tennyson! For God's sake! What have I told you about doing that in public! Were in DisneyWorld! Get off him!"

**A/N: I thought I'd make this extra long since I'm not sure when the next one will come. This new design for Ben for Omniverse that's going around has me seriously considering not writing for the fandom anymore. It's hard to keep your inspiration when the show's creators seem so bent on destroying everything you like about it. I'm sorry.**

**Please Review if you want anymore… I will take my readers into consideration in any decision I make.**


	4. Discussing Genetics Over Tea Cups

**A/N: This is so uninspired! I wasn't even going to put anything out this week. I got this idea and started writing. I'm so sorry. If you must blame anyone, blame all my amazing readers and reviewers who encouraged me to keep writing after the last one of these...  
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**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

This place messes with the heads of little children.

This was the conspiracy theory evolving in the twisted depths of a certain teenage Osmosian's mind as his girlfriend forced him to stand in line to ride the Tea Cups at the Magic Kingdom Park. This was **not** a ride intended for childless adults or teenagers, he solemnly concluded.

His eyes roamed suspiciously once more over the sea of tiny kids that composed the line he, his redhead, his best friend and the Japanese American girl inhabited presently and he shuddered inwardly. He felt like a giant.

Yes, he was taller than most adults, but being surrounded by this many munchkins was unnerving. Not to mention that it seriously freaked him out that he'd yet to see a crying child in this place other than an infant. They all went around zonked out of their little heads with excitement here! Hence, his developing paranoid theory about Disney 'Magic' really being mind control intended to turn children into zombies. He was still working out the practical applications in that, however…

He jerked out of his introspection when a giggling red-headed, freckled-faced toddler suddenly latched onto his leg as if trying to climb him. His onyx eyes frantically diverted to the extremity and it took tremendous self-control to refrain from kicking the tiny unexpected invader off. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt the little girl… that was just his natural reflex at being suddenly attacked like this!

"Caitlin! Oh, my goodness! No running away! What did I tell you about going to strangers? I am so sorry, sir! She broke away from my grip for a second and dashed off!" The little girl's mother was kneeling at Kevin's legs literally pulling on the tiny girl's chubby arms in an attempt to dislodge her grip on him. She didn't seem to want to budge!

The blonde huffed a somewhat frustrated breath and finally looked up to see who her daughter had attached herself to. "She must really like you!" Her azure eyes widened once they reached all the way up to meet with his half-shocked, half-amused obsidian. She immediately looked back down and gave a final jerk on the little girl's arms, relinquishing her death grip. The little girl pouted as she was displaced into her mother's arms and lifted.

The blonde smiled coquettishly at the comparatively younger raven-haired man, winking. "At least she knows how to choose who to latch onto pretty well. Can't blame a girl for trying, right?" Then, she sauntered off to the end of the line with the still pouting toddler in hand, completely missing the furious daggers targeted at her by the ginger standing next to the dark teenager.

Ben started snickering at his cousin's outraged/enraged look. The Anodyte's emerald eyes shot to link with his and narrowed into an all too serious unspoken threat before she rolled them to land on her boyfriend. The angered edge to her voice was palpable, even though she tried to mask it. "It would have been nice if you'd remembered I existed there, Kevin!"

The oldest teen turned to her with genuine confusion knitting his brows briefly, before a smug smirk replaced the expression. He loved it when she was jealous. "What can I say, Gwen? I have that effect on red heads!" He chortled darkly at her obvious growing ire at his mocking response and attempted to throw an arm around her waist. That wasn't happening. The ginger huffed an aggravated breath and shoved him off, crossing her arms petulantly in the process. Both Ben _and_ Julie were snickering now.

The smirk never leaving his face, the Osmosian ventured in his own defense, "It's not as if _I_ was the one flirting with the little girl's mother. She was hitting on _me_! You can't get mad every time some random chick hits on me… You'll always be pissed!"

Funny how guys don't know when to quit while they're still ahead. The glare his girlfriend sent him the instant those words left his mouth could have melted his skin! Little did he know the effort it took on the ginger's part to control the manna from igniting within them and doing just that. She actually had to take a centering breath before she hurt him. Once she was calm, she countered his smug smile with one of her own. "Oh? Like you don't get angry when guys hit on me?"

Kevin's smile only grew at her transparent bait. He was better at this game than she was. She was out of her league. He threw an arm around her shoulders, feigning nonchalance and not particularly caring why she'd actually let him in her anger. He regarded her with the most self-assured expression in his arsenal. "I've told you before, Gwen. I'll get jealous when real competition shows up…"

She didn't skip a beat. She was aware he thought less of her when it came to playing cruel games. He was sorely mistaken. "Oh! You mean like_ Michael_! Have I told you, he's looking much better since I've been giving him the yearly manna infusions...?" The smile had completely left her countenance and she was regarding him with an intense challenge burning in her emerald eyes.

Okay. The game was over. He wasn't stupid. She'd won. He wasn't going to ruin the rest of his day salvaging this battle.

He would however, save face in front of her and his friends. "Morningstar _isn't_ a threat to me," Yeah! He believed _that_! "Even if he was, you're free to do as you please, Gwen. No one's holding a gun to your head." Although, he kept the smile as he spoke, only hurt reached his eyes, making the sincerity in the statement ambiguous at best. The way his arm fell from around her shoulders and both hands found the inside of his jeans' pockets spoke volumes of just how much he'd meant it as well.

Gwen's own expression morphed to one of rue instantly upon noting his mannerisms. They'd taken it too far and now he was really hurt. These games were so stupid! No one ever really won! She tried gracing him with an attritional smile but he pretended not to see it, turning to face towards the front of the slowly moving line. Her face fell. She knew she couldn't just reach out and comfort him in front of everyone. His egoist, introverted defense mechanisms had likely kicked in already. He might as well be a mile away.

Julie became aware of the growing tension in the air and chose to cut through with a change of topic. She put a hand on the Anodyte's shoulder and gave her a quick reassuring smile when she turned back to regard her. Then, she tapped Kevin's shoulder to gain his attention. Once he turned his dark somber eyes to her, the smile tinged with amusement. "I think it was adorable how the little girl clung to you! Not to mention, the red hair made her look so much like Gwen. She looked like she was yours!"

Both Julie and Ben started laughing at the mortified look that struck the older teen and the furious blush that colored the ginger's face. The ebony stifled her giggling, turning curious eyes at her own boyfriend. "Haven't you ever wondered what our kids would look like, Ben?"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix immediately went from laughing to choking so bad that his best friend had to tap him on the back so that he wouldn't suffocate. Once he had a functional grip on breathing again, he locked horrified eyes with his girlfriend and was barely able to wheeze out a very surprised "Why?"

The Japanese American rolled her eyes with a cross between impatience and affront. She tried to keep her voice level, though she was aware of her miserable failure. "Because, Benjamin, that is _normal_ when you're in a long term relationship with someone! You think about your future!"

The brunette eyed her as if she was speaking to him in her parents' native tongue. "Okay! I'm only seventeen and I have a lot on my plate with the whole defending Earth from dangerous aliens and everything, so I don't really tend to think past what I'm doing tomorrow! That being said, I know I barely made it through high school, but unless the physics of biology have completely changed and nobody told me… we've done nothing that would remotely cause me to have to worry about what _our kids_ would be like!"

His statement was so deadpan and he'd said it with such terrified conviction, that not only were both his cousin and best friend doubled over in laughter in response… even Julie was attempting to muffle a snicker behind her hand. She couldn't help it. He had a point.

She still wanted to know his opinion on the matter, however. Therefore, she wrapped both arms around him, locking her hazel eyes with his emerald and giving him her most beseeching smile. "Come on, Ben! What do you think our kids would look like?"

Having her this close and touching him wasn't exactly working any wonders for the hero's fuddled mind. All he could really focus on was the pretty way her little mouth moved when she spoke. How bad would it look to kiss her in front of a few dozen six year olds? Yeah. No. He was stuck. He'd better just concentrate on what she was asking him. He shrugged his shoulders at an honest loss before responding. "They'd all be Asian, right? I'm pretty sure Asian beats Irish in the genetic tug-o-war…" It all came off with the intonation of a desperate question.

Kevin started guffawing even harder and looked around for the nearest rest room. He might need to make a dash for it if the kid kept this up.

Both his girlfriend and the ebony shot him a disapproving glare. His best friend just seemed to plead for help with his eyes, but he honestly had no idea how to aid him. He didn't know what these insane girls wanted to hear either. He was just enjoying watching him wilt under the spot light.

The Japanese American turned back to her boyfriend, giving him an encouraging squeeze and brilliant smile. "That's actually pretty good, Ben. Nevertheless, it's not necessarily accurate. There's a pretty famous comedian who has the exact same mix our kids would have and he doesn't really look Asian. He even has green eyes like yours. His eyes are slightly almond shaped and he has beautiful bone structure like my dad. I always figured that's what our little boys would look like. I always envisioned our little girls would look like the girl in 'Memoirs of a Geisha' only with green eyes instead of blue." She got a far off look as she envisioned their hypothetical children.

Ben's imagination wasn't working for him and he was growing exceedingly uncomfortable with the plural language the girl in his arms was using. How many kids was he supposed to be having exactly? This was too much. He shot a final desperate glance at his still evilly chuckling best friend and his mind finally kicked in. The sinister intent in the smirk that spread across his mien would have made the Osmosian cringe, had he not been laughing too distractedly to notice it. "So Kevin, why don't you tell Gwen what _you_ think _your_ kids will look like?"

That sobered the raven-haired teen real quick! His eyes darted quickly to his redhead, finding her arching an excited, curious, perfect eyebrow at him expectantly.

Wow! Ben sucked!

He decided to just go with honesty. She'd probably appreciate that, right? "I'll be happy if our kids are humanoid. I'm not even hoping for twenty digits."

Not even Ben found any humor in that. The ginger's brows furrowed in a mix of empathy and fluster, but she managed a strained prodding smile. "You're going to have to elaborate on that one, Kev."

The dark teen let out a somewhat frustrated huff, crossing his arms. He kept his expression stolid, voice completely phlegmatic as he responded. "I'm not entirely human to start, Gwen. Add to that whatever damage I've done to my genetic material by hacking the Omnitrix and the fact that you're not entirely human either. I have no idea _what_ our kids would be. I'm hoping for human, but Manny, Helen and Pierce all have mixed alien parentage and they're not human. Alan shifts between both species at will. It's a crap shoot with us. I'd love them regardless, though." He ended with a sincere smile.

Gwen couldn't resist the urge to hug him the moment he finished speaking. He could be so unwittingly sweet at times! She looked up at him, smiling endearingly. "Anodytes don't have DNA. We're pure energy. So technically, unless I go full Anodyte- I'm human genetically. Furthermore, any damage you did to yourself hacking the Omnitrix was repaired when it exploded. Lastly, Osmosians look very much like humans except for the horns… and I totally dig the horns!"

He returned her hug and added a grateful smile. She always knew exactly what to say…

Unfortunately, they found their private little moment interrupted by Ben's mocking voice and snapping fingers. "Yeah! Whatever, people! You wanna move? The kids in front of you are like twenty feet ahead! Let's get this ride over with so we can move on to something for adults! Seriously Gwen, this is the last ride you get to pick!" Once his cousin and best friend turned and started moving, he added mockingly. "And, for the record… I hope your kids take after Gwen 'cause you're butt-ugly, Kevin!"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix had just enough time to dodge the fist that came at his jaw at blinding speed.

The left hook to his shoulder blade connected nicely, though!

**A/N: Um, okay… How random was that? I told you the quality of these things was diminishing! Funny thing is, they're not getting any shorter- just worse! You'd think they'd get shorter if they were this bad, right? I have ideas, but I'm really bummed about what I've heard about Omniverse so it's hard to manifest them properly. If you're still reading this after this installment, you're a real scrapper! Good for you! Hopefully, these will get better. Please, tell me if you want me to stop.**

**Please Review!**


	5. Run Fooooour The Hills

**A/N: I'm literally forcing these out. I have no drive to write at all anymore. But, people keep reviewing… Thank you for being so kind and reading!**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

"What could possibly be taking them this long? It doesn't take half an hour to rent golf clubs! You don't figure the idiot got lost in the clubhouse, do you?" The Japanese man didn't bother masking his annoyance as he regarded his wife who was presently sitting next to him in the golf cart. Nor did he bother keeping the comment tacit enough to keep their present company from overhearing.

"Daddy! That's not cool!" Julie looked up from her task of filling the names into the score sheets to glare recriminatingly at her father.

Her mother made a halfhearted attempt at democracy on her behalf. However, the humor in her voice at her husband's quip betrayed her true feelings. "Your daughter doesn't seem to like it when you insult her boyfriend, dear." Julie's glare redirected toward her and she shrugged feigning innocence.

"Yes. Neither do the rest of us! So if you don't mind…" There was no such hint of amusement in Sandra's voice as she rounded on the man in the golf cart parked parallel to her and Carl's. Both the brunette's parents sent the offender a scathing look.

Yamamoto had the decency to look sheepish and mutter an apology, averting his gaze from the couple.

"Oh please, Sandra. Don't be hypersensitive! The man didn't even mention any names!" Natalie pointed out with an evil grin. "He could've just as easily been referring to your son's delinquent sidekick. The adjective fits either of them nicely enough."

It took every iota of equanimity contained within Gwen's body to keep the nine iron she was currently practicing her swing with from 'mistakenly' slipping out of her grasp in the general direction of her mother's head. She didn't even bother replying. She didn't trust herself not to overdo it with the expletives if she spoke. Publicly cursing out her mother would definitely ruin everyone's day. Years of martial arts training had taught her more discipline than _that_.

Thankfully, the arrival of the fourth golf cart conveying her father, her boyfriend and her cousin served as sufficient distraction to keep her matricidal (and her aunt's homicidal) thoughts at bay.

And what a distraction it turned out to be indeed!

Both Gwen and Julie broke into a chorus of unbridled laughter the instant their boyfriends stepped off the golf cart. The boys had seemingly decided to dress the part for a day of serious golf.

Ben sported khaki Dockers, a pink short sleeve polo shirt (PINK!), had a purple sweater tied loosely around his shoulders and penny loafers adorned his feet… yet he was actually muted compared to Kevin!

The Osmosian had gone all out with his outfit. He wore khaki Docker shorts, a dark gray short sleeve polo shirt with a black and red plaid sweater vest on top. Knee high, plaid trouser socks that matched his vest, white tipped golf shoes and even a black golf cap completed the look.

Both teens shot slightly hurt yet smug looks at their laughing girlfriends. The oldest was the first to speak in their defense. "Laugh if you must, but you know I make this look good."

His girlfriend wiped an unbidden tear before regarding him with adoration. "I'm the last person to argue that! Nevertheless, you guys look like Abercrombie and Fitch model wannabes! What possessed you two to dress like this?"

The ebony had finally stifled her giggles enough to afford her own inquiry edgewise. "Never mind even, that! You guys were wearing different clothes on the shuttle ride here! What happened to your clothes?"

The teens exchanged an annoyed look that seemed to convey '_I told you this was a stupid idea_', crossing their arms in near perfect mimicry and chorusing, "He dared me!" A mirror image of the two sending each other a recriminating glare in response instantly followed.

Each girl went to their respective boyfriend and put a consoling arm around their waist. They pointedly ignored the laughing adults in the background. The Anodyte was the first to ask the obvious question. "You both dared each other to dress like preppy golfers?" She was addressing the raven-haired teenager, but everyone knew she meant the question for both of them. They both nodded solemnly.

It was now Julie's turn to ask. She tried very hard to keep the giggles out of her voice. "Why exactly did you go along with it?"

Once again the response was ubiquitous as if rehearsed, "He said I couldn't pull it off!" and once again they glared at each other with murderous intent.

"What'd I tell you, Sandra? 'Idiot' really does describe them both! You owe Yamamoto an apology if you ask me…" Natalie couldn't help getting one more stab in as she took a picture of her daughter beside the dark teen quickly, before their faces morphed to scandalized outrage at what she had just uttered. "Although honestly, this is the best I've seen the hoodlum look. I'm keeping this and telling the girls in the book club Gwen met someone new on this trip. I don't think he's ever looked this presentable in his life!"

"Mother, seriously! Daddy!" The look in the redhead's eyes was practically begging when she turned to her father for back up.

Frank sighed, getting into the golf cart his wife was occupying and starting it up. He maneuvered it down the trail in the direction of the first hole. The still chuckling Yamamotos soon followed, as did Carl and Sandra. The latter sent her son a coddling smile and wave as she went.

This left the four teenagers scrambling for the last cart. "Great! If your mom likes the way I look, then I must look like a total douche!" Said Kevin as he went for the driver's seat and collided with Ben. The brunette didn't look particularly willing to back down. "I'm driving, Kevin."

The Osmosian narrowed his eyes dangerously at the younger boy, who didn't even flinch in return. "You wanna find out how far I can stick a golf club up your-" Gwen interjected here, squeezing between the two and placing a hand on each of their chests to keep them apart. "Okay! _I'm_ driving! You two sit in the back! Julie's up front with me. If you want to act like children- I'm going to treat you like it."

Even if her boyfriend begrudgingly accepted this arrangement, her cousin certainly had something to say about it. "Why do we have to do what _you_ say?"

"Benjamin!" The dangerous, threatening undertone the Japanese American's intonation achieved with that one word caused the brunette's eyes to immediately dart toward her. Once he noted her crossed arms and austere expression, he knew better than to argue. He was sitting in the back with his best friend and that was that.

Once they arrived at the teeing ground for the first hole, a whole new dilemma unfolded.

"Okay, Ben. To make this fair for the rest of us, you can't transform into any aliens to play. We are all playing this round of golf as human beings with whatever natural talent we were endowed. Is that clear?"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix regarded his girlfriend with a cross between bemusement and vexation, leaning on his club. "How exactly is that fair when your dad's a golf pro and neither I nor Kevin have ever played a round of real golf before in our lives? Never mind, the fact that it's a little bigoted forcing everyone to play as 'human beings'. Kevin's not technically entirely human. What's he supposed to play as?"

The Osmosian chuckled at that one. The kid had her there.

Julie narrowed her eyes menacingly at her boyfriend. God, he could be infuriating when he used logic against her. She wouldn't allow him the satisfaction of turning her words against her, though. "You know what I mean, Ben! No turning into anything that will give you an advantage against the rest of us!"

The Savior of the Universe merely smirked smugly as he stepped up to the tee and lined up his club as if he was putting- never mind that he held a driver and needed to get the ball at least one hundred yards to be anywhere in position to get a decent shot at the fairway. He truly had no idea how to play this sport. Of course, he didn't know that. "How hard could this be? You just hit the ball hard enough to get it close to the hole in as few swings as possible, right. Piece of cake!"

His confident assertions flew out the door with his first swing, which seemed to miss the ball altogether by a foot. The momentum spun him completely around, caused him to loose his bearings and landed him face first on the beautifully manicured green.

Even his parents were laughing when he got up. His girlfriend was at his side stifling her laughter and gracing him with a sympathetic smile. To Ben's growing surprise, she stood behind him- her chest flushed against his back- and brought her hands around to place them on top of his as he held the club. She attempted to explain something to him about his posture and his knee position as he swung, but all his brain was registering was how soft her body felt pressed against his back.

So engrossed was he in the sensation of having her holding him so close, that when she attempted another swing with him, it resulted in both the ball _and_ the club flying several dozen yards off. He turned to grin at her dubiously. "I don't think I can learn how to swing with you touching me, Julie. It's way too distracting!"

The ebony felt a furious flattered blush creep up her neck into her cheeks and she averted her eyes to the lawn with a smirk. She was eternally grateful when Carl came up to them with another ball and driver. "I'll take it from here, Julie. We don't have all day to teach my son how to swing a club."

Five tries later, Ben was actually able to get the ball eighty yards in the general direction he wanted it to go and it was Kevin's turn to try.

The Osmosian took a driver from the bag and examined it. Then he absorbed the material- titanium alloy- and morphed his right had into and exact copy of the club.

"Hey! I thought we said no powers!"

The raven-haired teen pointedly ignored his best friend as he stood at the tee and lined up his swing. "She said we could use whatever talents we're endowed, Tennyson. Like you said before… I'm not human. This is my natural talent. It falls within the rules."

The brunette turned pleading emerald eyes to his girlfriend. "You're really letting him get away with that?"

Julie just shrugged. "It's not really an advantage, Ben. It's still a golf club. He still has to use the right amount of force and the proper swing to get any kind of lift or distance."

At this statement, Yamamoto left his wife's side and walked up to Kevin on the teeing green. Upon seeing him approach, the oldest teen tensed and sent him an apprehensive frown. "Dude! You're not going to hug me from behind to teach me the right way to swing, right. 'Cause I'm sorry. I mean no disrespect. But, I _will _totally deck you. I'd rather not learn!"

The Japanese man couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at that honest confession. Then he sobered and regarded the dark teenager, shaking his head. "I've done this for long enough that I can teach you without touching you. Nevertheless, it is hardly fair that you're the only one that doesn't have anyone to help you. Therefore, I volunteer. Widen your stance and bend your knees more…"

Five hours later, all five couples sat in the clubhouse having refreshments and tallying up the scores for the course. Julie looked up excitedly as she finished her calculations. "Okay, everyone. Par for the course was seventy-five. Daddy won with an amazing score of seventy. Mom and Frank tied for second at seventy-six, which is very impressive" everyone clapped for the accomplishment. Ben and Kevin hooted. "Third place was a three-way tie between Gwen, Natalie and I with seventy nine- not bad… Fourth place was Sandra with eighty two." After this, she sat down and slurped noisily on her milkshake, pointedly avoiding the questioning glares from her boyfriend and his best friend.

"Yeah. Not to press or anything, Julie; but I think you left some of us out." Ben punctuated his desire to know how he did on the course by wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing her impossibly close to him. Julie shot a desperate look at the ginger who sat across from her.

Gwen took the hint and attempted to change the topic, turning to her own boyfriend. "So. Whose idea was it to dress Ben as a pinker version of Micheal Morningstar?" Milkshake nearly exploded out of the Asian American's nose at the giggles the question insighted.

Even, through the snickering, Kevin managed to throw an arm around Gwen and regard his best friend's girlfriend genuinely. "Oh! Nice try! Seriously, though, we wanna know how we did."

Julie sobered instantly and looked nervously between the two boys. Then, with a resigned sigh, she blurted. "Kevin scored two hundred and twenty three… Ben two twenty-seven. I think you guys broke some kind of record for worse golfers ever! Sorry!" She immediately wrapped her arms around her boyfriend as if he was about to throw a tantrum.

Gwen mimicked the gesture with Kevin as she stroked his back comfortingly. The two teenage girls continued holding their boys in condolence until the older couples made the announcement they were ready to head back to the hotel. Both teenagers moaned in protest as their girls pulled away from them and got up to leave.

Just as the group was heading out of the clubhouse, Ben turned back to Kevin with a devious smirk. "Dude! Do you think they'll comfort us more at the hotel if we keep pretending we care whatsoever about how bad we suck at golf?"

The moment both his cousin and girlfriend turned to send them outraged, incensed glares- the wielder of the Ultimatrix realized he'd spoken way to loud for no longer being in a crowded clubhouse.

The smack to the back of the head from the furious Osmosian next to him was also a good indication.

**A/N: I don't even have a good excuse for this. Just… whatever…**

**Please Review!**


	6. Queen of the Mountain

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed my last installment and certainly, all of you who have given me encouragement to continue with this drabble. My readers are the reason I keep doing this. **

**In this Installment, we shall be torturing Gwen! Come on! You all know you've always secretly wanted to! This was my husband's favorite ride when he was a boy.  
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**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

The grin that adorned the Osmosian's face upon reaching the one ride he'd been most psyched about since getting to Disney could have lit up Epcot brighter than lllumiNations. The moment he saw the unmistakable futuristic looking building coming into view, he hoisted his very surprised girlfriend who'd been scanning a map of the park over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and started running for the ride.

The ginger could only laugh and raise her hands in a shocked questioning gesture in the direction of the rest of their group as they became more distant to her vantage point. Most of the adults laughed in paralleled confusion. Her mother just gaped in mortified astonishment. Once she could muster it through the giggles, she ventured the amused inquiry, inclining her head the best she could to regard the maniac carrying her. "Okay… Am I going to get an explanation for this or are we also chalking this one up to you being a complete lunatic?"

He chuckled lightly, turning to wave the rest of the group over fervently before running in to the building. He didn't bother setting her down, continuing to move quickly through the halls of what looked like a space museum to the redhead from her strangely angled vantage point. Once they reached a group of about twenty other people who seemed to make up the end of this particular ride's line (and who all turned to stare at them as if a psychopath had just joined them- which in essence he had) he set her down.

Gwen found herself allotted but a second to look around the white almost sterile hallway, trying to get her bearings before her back was crushed once more against an impossibly muscled chest and muscular arms came around her middle in a tight embrace. She could hear the excitement in the tenor of the young man holding her as he breathed what he believed to be a cogent explanation for his bizarre behavior into her ear. "Space Mountain!"

Okay? Was that supposed to mean anything to her? She continued giggling as she raised the map she'd thankfully been able to salvage from dropping during her abduction into this place, scanning it for the attraction, as the rest of their group joined them. They all looked slightly out of breath as if they'd actually run in here to save her. They probably had.

The Osmosian's best friend was the first to comment, raising both hands in the air exasperatedly- one open and the other still intertwined with his girlfriend's. He narrowed his eyes menacingly at the older teen through the grin he wore. "Okay! That was absolutely random! Any chance you wanna give some warning before running off with my cousin, psycho?"

The raven-haired teen just looked at him as if he'd grown two heads, bringing a hand up to gesture around the hall they were currently standing in, waiting in line. He spoke as if everything should be completely logical to the oblivious brunette. "Dude! Space Mountain!"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix instantly snapped his head to look around as if realizing where he was for the first time, an impossibly humongous grin gracing his features. He was a complete idiot for not noticing before! He'd been here when Kevin brought the two of them after enlisting in MIT. He too brought his girlfriend into his arms as he started wriggling with excitement. The Asian American girl just started giggling at her twitchy boyfriend's enthusiasm as he nearly shouted excitedly in her ear. "Oh man! This is like, the best ride here! You guys are going to love this thing!"

His mother sent a skeptical mortified look his way, tightening her grip on her own husband's hand for support. "That's what you said about the Tower of Terror, Ben." She shifted her light green eyes between the two teenage boys worriedly. "You're not taking us on anything like_ that_ again, are you?" There was a palpable plead in the blonde's voice.

Attrition flitted across the younger teen's countenance briefly before he smiled sheepishly at his mother. "No, Mom. And I swear, I honestly forgot about your fear of heights on that one. This is just a roller coaster."

"Just a roller coaster, huh?" All eyes turned to Frank who was presently reading the warnings for the ride, which were posted on a nearby wall. He listed off the most poignant. "Please avoid if you have any heart problems… back problems… are pregnant-"

Natalie interjected here eyeing the two teen girls suspiciously. "Okay. If anybody wants to admit anything before going on this ride, speak now. Lord knows, with its other-worldly genetics any kid of yours doesn't need to be put through a blender also."

Deep crimson instantly crept into the faces of three of the teens as they gawked scandalized at the ginger's mother. The eldest's demeanor warped into an enraged scowl at the insinuation. The other adults sneered openly at her as the people in front of them in the line overheard and began snickering. Frank snapped outraged eyes at his wife in reprimand, his voice actually became dangerously low. "That's enough, Lily!"

The elder redhead actually seemed somewhat confounded by her husband's reaction as she turned to regard him. She shrugged innocently. "I was only showing honest concern for my little future mutant alien grandchildren and grandnephews! What's so objectionable about _that_?"

This actually elicited a mortified gasp from every single person in her party. Brilliant thing was that the inflection in her voice indicated that she was actually sincere. This xenophobic bigotry was really this woman's version of _concern_!

Yamamoto called forth all his sangfroid in order to retort to her as kindly as possible, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Never mind that you just implied both our daughters are irresponsibly promiscuous, Mrs. Tennyson. You do realize that implying our grandchildren would be alien mutants is tantamount to calling your own daughter one?"

Gwen instantly shot the Japanese man a pointedly grateful look, vociferating obviously. "Thank you!"

Her mother only smiled at her gently, adoringly, as she came to rest a hand on her cheek. Admiration tinged her every word. "But you are the most adorable alien mutant ever, sweetheart."

The Anodyte's expression softened at her mother's loving caress and tender words. Wow, this woman was conflicting! However, she couldn't help get a final quip in, raising a challenging eyebrow at her mother. "Adorable as opposed to whom, Mom?"

Natalie seemed to contemplate this for a second before responding simply. "As opposed to Verdona, certainly."

Her husband face palmed himself. His brother though, was far more vocal, his ire escalating. "Our mother is beautiful, Lily!"

The ginger turned to him unfazed by his apparent growing anger. She once again shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure... If you're into 'glows in the dark'..."

The statement was so absurd that all the teens actually started snickering. Even Sandra had to bring a hand up to muffle an escaping giggle. Her husband turned slightly jilted eyes towards her, but ended up laughing as well when the Yamamotos beside them were no longer able to contain their humor.

Kevin's chuckles died down into a sinister smirk as he tightened his grip around his girlfriend and mock whispered in her ear. "_I'm_ into 'glows in the dark'!"

This garnered him a recriminating glare from the father of the girl in his arms. The way he was smiling was entirely inappropriate in his opinion. "Not helping, Kevin!"

The Osmosian attempted to change his aspect to something a bit more conciliatory, straightening somewhat and clearing his throat nervously before replying sheepishly. "Sorry, sir!"

Julie couldn't help feel sorry for the dark haired teen, so she decided to divert some of the unwelcome attention to herself. She leaned her head back into her boyfriend's clavicle, stating confidently. "_I'm_ into 'glows in the dark', too!"

This renewed the chuckling from most of the adults and teens. The one blaring exception being her father, who shot the boy holding her, the dirtiest look he could muster. Funny how she managed to never get blamed for anything relating to them as a couple. The brunette completely ignored the Japanese man's sneer, planting a soft kiss to her temple. "Thanks for the support, Julie. But, I don't have enough of an Anodytic spark to actually glow."

The ebony inclined her head as far as she could to lock her hazel eyes with his, finding they actually widened in surprise at the wicked smile that adorned her mien. She didn't bother allowing the naughty inflection from coloring her next statement. "Who said anything about Anodytes?" When his eyebrows knitted together in honest confusion, she brought one hand up behind his neck and pulled his head down so that she could finish whispering the rest conspiratorially into his ear. "I'm more than certain I can get you to 'glow in the dark'... in one sense of the phrase or another..." She punctuated the statement with a perfectly chaste kiss to his cheek before his face snapped around to glare dangerously at her.

The wielder of the Ultimatrix's eyes darkened to almost a forest green as he stared down at the girl in his arms sending him a deceptively impeccant smile. How could she say something like _that_ to him when they were with both sets of their parents and his entire extended family, rendering him absolutely helpless to do anything about it?

He bit his lower lip almost painfully and darted a quick frantic look at the group around them, who currently stared at the couple curiously. Then, he brought one arm up to wrap harshly around the front of the upper chest of the evil minx in his arms, clawing his hand into her shoulder and effectively crushing her flush to him. He hissed back into her ear as quietly as his boiling blood would allow. "THAT IS SO NOT FAIR!"

The ebony continued smiling angelically at the rest of the group, ignoring both the heated glare her boyfriend burned into the side of her head and the forming bruise on her shoulder as she called out to the boy's uncle amusedly, "Continue reading the warnings for the ride, Mr. Tennyson!"

Frank's eyes narrowed somewhat suspiciously, shifting between his nephew and the tiny smiling Japanese American girl before shifting back to the posted apprisals on the wall. He skimmed over them briefly, stating casually. "There's really nothing else left except for this bolded statement about not riding if you suffer from claustrophobia."

This got the teenage ginger's attention, if the way she stiffened in her boyfriend's arms was any sort of indication. She made a conscious effort to keep her intonation neutral as she directed her inquiry to no one in particular. "Why would a roller coaster aim a warning towards claustrophobics?"

Despite her attempts to hide her growing anxiety, the Osmosian holding her was far to astute not to notice the rise in pitch to her normal speaking voice. He maneuvered her around in his arms so that she faced him. Locking deep onyx eyes with her in concern, he kept his voice low and empathetic, as not to publicly expose what she was obviously not comfortable airing out to this audience. "In case you hadn't noticed, Gwen... we're indoors. This roller coaster is different form any you've ever been on. The thrill isn't derived from speed or inversions with this one. It actually doesn't go much faster than thirty miles per hour. The rush comes from where this thing is housed. The riders are strapped into a pretty confining shuttle that carries about six people. Then, they get shot into a pitch black tunnel."

"With that kind of confinement and sensory deprevation- it feels sorta like you're in a coffin catapulting at impossible speeds. It's an amazing thrill for the average person and the entire experience only lasts for about two and a half minutes, but for a person who isn't comfortable in that environment... it's gotta register as a torturous eternity." At the expected widening of her emerald eyes in response to his rather apropos description of the venture that awaited them, he lowered his head to almost, touch his forehead to hers. He lowered his voice even further to finish. "You don't have to go on this, Gwen. You can just wait for the rest of us on the other side."

The Anodyte in his arms quickly schooled her demeanor to one of adamant adjuration. She wriggled within his grasp in order to bring her arms up to wrap across her own chest challengingly, voicing what sounded to her boyfriend like a blatantly overcompensating, stalwart retort in a pitch that was obviously meant for more than only his ears to register. "Don't be silly, Kevin! I've told you before- I'm not claustrophobic! I can certainly handle a few seconds of darkness! Especially when I know, you're right next to me! What kind of looser do you think I am? Bring it on!"

With that, she struggled free of the oldest teen's grasp, turned and with a resolute head held high, sauntered around the corner to bridge the gap their conversation had created in the line of awaiting riders.

Her boyfriend watched her go with a foreboding expression. He wasn't about to argue with her, however. There was no point. They really didn't make anything thicker than that girl's head when she'd made up her mind about something. This might be fun to watch, though… He decided to blame the sadistic smirk that spread across his austere features on the darker side of his sometimes seriously disturbed psyche. It was also likely the culprit in his being too shameless, to even bother hiding it before turning to the rest of their group and gesturing for everyone to follow the redhead with his final thought on the matter. "Famous last words- if ever I heard any…"

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later...<p>

Kevin released a deeply frustrated breath, standing a few feet in front of the building that radically resembled the tip of a gigantic white screw emerging from within the ground and forming a mountain. His face a conflicting mix of concern, empathy and consternation for the ginger whose beautiful strands of fiery red mane he currently held wrapped tight within his fingers away from her face as she retched uncontrollably into the beautifully manicured bushes just outside Space Mountain.

Making matters worse, both his best friend and the boy's girlfriend were laughing painfully while getting the poor girl a bottle of water from the concession stand located ten feet away, which was making it exceedingly difficult for him to keep his own humor in this totally foreseeable situation in check.

There _were_ bathrooms inside the building. However, Gwen had stubbornly declared she was fine once she emerged from the ride. Even though the green tinge to her usually pallid skin spoke volumes of her deceit. She'd made it twenty feet outside the doors before succumbing to what the Osmosian knew to be inevitable.

At least, she made it off the ride, the raven-haired teen mused inwardly. Two less fortuitous others hadn't even managed _that_ on the adjacent track. He ventured that Disney must have a dedicated cast of barf collectors for these rides. They seemed to have staffers for pretty much everything else here.

He looked back at three men behind them. Thankfully, their wives hadn't made it outside yet since they were buying all of them copies of the picture the ride took at the steepest apex. It must have been one sadistic Disney Imagineer, who thought up that little feature! How did that brainstorming session even go? '_Hey everybody! I have a great idea! Let's have a camera right where the ride makes everyone scream like little girls! Then, they can all make fun of each other for the rest of their lives!_'

Truth be told, considering Gwen's state during the ride- the raven haired teen really wanted too see that picture! His eyes locked humorously with the puking girl's father and a chuckle finally escaped. He just couldn't contain it anymore!

Frank shook his head disapprovingly, but couldn't help the smirk that unwittingly settled on his face as he turned to regard the other softly snickering adult males. "Why did I even bother reading the warnings to this thing in the first place?"

**A/N: Okay! This ride actually does nothing for me. I'm a heights and speed junky. However, if you are even slightly uncomfortable in the dark or confined spaces... I have heard it described as the most intense experience ever! My favorite ride in DisneyWorld is The Tower of Terror, which I fully plan on getting to in the future. To anyone who thinks Gwen's claustrophobia is OOC... see 'Inferno'. I do my homework. I actually really like this one. Gwen was overdue. About the Benlie in this... I write really different Benlie- but anyone who has read enough of my stuff already knows this. I love writing both these couples!**

**Please Review!**


	7. Kon'nichiwa from Epcot

**A/N: Hey everyone! This one completely got away from me lengthwise. Every idea that popped into my mind seemed so good I just had to put it in! I ended up with this… this… I don't even know _what_ to call this! This is my favorite country showcase in Epcot's World Showcase. I hope you like it better than the last one. I apologize if I insulted anyone with the last one…**

**Anyway, I need to send a shout out to Count Kulalu for writing a snippet to his fic based on my suggestion. It's actually really funny. You guys should check it out. It's called 'What if Julie?'**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!<p>

Attempting to describe the raw emotion the Japanese taiko drums played by expert hands can elicit in its audience is an exercise in futility.

This was something the young Japanese American girl who rested her head against her boyfriend's clavicle, wrapped up tight in his strong arms, watching the Matsuriza drummers at the Japan Pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot could easily appreciate. Having her back pressed so completely to his firm chest, she could have sworn they were playing along to the teenager's heartbeat- strong, powerful, steady...

The sound these drums emitted had an amazingly kindred quality to that of a hero's pulse, she mused inwardly.

They were playing her love's heart.

She was broken out of her glassy-eyed introspection when the performance ended with an uproar of appreciative applause from the five dozen or so spectators who had congregated in the courtyard adjacent the replica of an eighth century pagoda, which housed the amazing souvenir store and one of two restaurants.

"Wow! Okay! So, that was totally _not_ lame! I guess even _you_ can actually be right about something every once in a while! Who'd of thunk it?" Said the Osmosian mockingly, shifting his grip around his own girlfriend's waist in order to dig in his jeans' pocket. He fished out his wallet and handed the brunette a twenty to square their bet.

His redhead pulled out of his grasp completely, walking away toward the store after the adults in their group while shooting him a disapproving scowl over her shoulder, which the older teen countered with a sincerely questioning quirk to his prominent eyebrows. What had he said now?

The wielder of the Omnitrix didn't even bother getting angry, however. He knew an insulting compliment was the best he was getting out of this sore looser. He just leveled an infuriatingly superior smirk at the older teenager as he intertwined his finger's with his tiny giggling ebony's and headed to meet up with the rest of their group inside.

The now morose oldest teen followed, grumbling something about bipolar redheads under his breath.

Once inside the store, which seemed deceptively much smaller from the outside, Kevin realized everyone in their group had scattered in completely separate directions.

Looking around, his eyes were immediately drawn to the impressive armory display against the wall almost adjacent the entrance. Apparently, his best friend shared his taste for bladed weaponry as he was already at the display waving around a miniature version of a katana as if he were a ninja.

The raven-haired teen noticed the brunette's girlfriend had made herself scarce for his little weapon's demonstration. He couldn't blame her. Ben was a moron!

Huffing out an amused scoff, he crossed his arms over his chest, making his way over to stand behind the blade-wielding idiot. He dodged a wild swing that made it all the way over the shorter teen's head and used the momentum to swiftly, grab the blade out of the boy's hands.

When the Savior of the Universe turned recriminating eyes behind him, he was met with the indignant rage in those of the older teen poised there. There was no humor in his voice when he spoke, sheathing the miniature sword. He handed it back to the clerk who seemed eternally grateful to have it out of the younger man's hands. "What are you doing, Tennyson? Trying to put an eye out? I'm not taking you to a hospital if you hurt yourself, Stupid!"

Ben's countenance warped into one of affronted animosity, gesturing with his hands at all the other blades in the display. "They're all blunt! They couldn't cut through butter! I was reenacting a scene from Sumo Slammers IV where Ishyama and Kenko-" The Osmosian raised a halting hand to cut him off right there.

Kevin honestly couldn't believe this! He raked a hand trough his hair in deep aggravation, before replying to the man who was responsible for this planet's safety in much the same tone you would regard a very slow child. "First of all, Dude, you're seventeen! I get it that you have a man-crush on two fictional characters from a show targeted at kids half your age. You don't want to grow up. That's cool. I get that. But, these little fan displays of yours are just outright _WEIRD_!" He chose to ignore the even further insulted scowl that deepened his best friend's sneer as he continued. "Secondly, something _pointy_ doesn't have to be sharp to cause some serious injury. Some of the most agonizing damage can be achieved with blunt edges. Take it from someone with personal experience in these matters!"

Ben now crossed his arms petulantly over his chest, infusing as much sarcasm as he could conjure into his next statement. "_I'm_ supposed to take advice on _WEIRD_ from a guy who knows first hand how to torture someone with a blunt pointed object?" He dropped his hands exasperatedly, shoving past his best friend towards the rear of the store where the girls resided.

He got one last vituperation in at the older teen as he went. "I'd rather be immature and quirky than whatever it is _you_ are, Man!"

This should probably have vexed the Osmosian. However, the ever present slight dementia, a vestige of his younger psychotic years, colored the statement into something completely different in the mind's eye of the raven-haired teen. The end result being a ridiculously debased flattered smirked spearing his august features as he followed his younger friend.

They passed the Yamamotos on their way to join up with their respective girlfriends. The couple was engaged in conversation with one of the sales clerks in this '_country's_' clocks and timepiece department. It wasn't surprising for them to find kinship amongst the people working here. Every single person that worked for each of the eleven countries featured at Epcot's World Showcase was a native of their country, here on a one-year visa to work for the park. This was what made the feel of the displays in this part of the park so authentic.

As they passed, the brunette's peculiarly photographic mind was able to pick up on what his girlfriend's father was saying to the clerk."Nihonde wa anata wa doko karadesu ka? Anata no kazoku wa dono kendesu ka? "

The wielder of the Omnitrix had absolutely no compunction as to what it meant. Nor was he curious enough to type it into his phone's translator application to have it deciphered. He didn't even hear what the addressee responded. He really didn't care. There were times when being able to pick up random tidbits like this irked the crap out of him.

Upon reaching the girls, the teenagers found Gwen in front of a floor to ceiling mirror fidgeting slightly as both a young female clerk and a giggling Julie simultaneously tied an obi around the waist of a kimono the ginger was sporting, while pulling her hair up into a traditional Japanese bun.

Fed up with being groped, the Anodyte finally swatted her Asian friend away to properly assess herself in the mirror.

The further up the length of her body her eyes traveled, the larger the appreciative smile that adorned her face grew. Julie had picked out a deep purple silk Yukata decorated with cherry trees in full bloom, the blossoms bursting with brilliant whites and pinks. The obi she wore was double sided- a deep plum on one side and gold on the other. She wore it golden side up and the clerk had added a smaller plum obi on top to accentuate it. Her hair was held up into what resembled a messy French twist by what reminded her of a very short chopstick.

When her own emerald eyes finished their appreciative ascent up her body and met in the mirror, they immediately deviated to lock with the burning dilated coals that were those of the Osmosian coming up to wrap his arms around her. She found herself transfixed by the unbridled hunger lurking in those incredibly deep pools. Once he was holding her so close that she could feel the heat his immaculately sculpted body was releasing into her back through the impossibly close contact, his voice rumbled deep in his throat, unrelentingly scorching the mirror image of her own eyes. "You stood me up outside, Gwen…"

The statement had the quality of a question, though the redhead knew it was more of a chastisement. Either way, the predatory look in his eyes transformed it into a challenge the ginger was not about to back away from. She rolled her eyes as if bored, letting out a sigh, "Maybe, that'll teach you to be more culturally sensitive to Julie and her parents."

Her dismissal only further enticed the dark teen holding her. He loved riling her up. A dark eyebrow shot up on his face as he attempted to morph his features into something akin to innocence. The effort was sabotaged by his own obscenely wicked grin. "I wasn't insulting this culture! I was insulting the moron with the watch!"

From somewhere behind them, they heard a slight giggle and an indignant huff, followed by a very resolute, "Up yours, Kevin!"

Gwen had to giggle as well as she attempted to see around the imposing young man behind her in the mirror to better appreciate the look on her cousin's face. However, she found this impossible. The guy was a wall. A wall that had curiously removed one of his hands from around her waist and currently positioned it over her thigh, stroking the soft material of the kimono she sported.

She struggled to keep from shivering outwardly at the soft gesture. Once he bent down to say his next words directly into her ear, allowing his sharp teeth to graze the tender flesh there, however, that idea along with any other circling her mind fled her completely and she collapsed helplessly against him. She could still see through half-lidded eyes the devious grin he maintained as he spoke. "You are definitely getting this outfit, Gwen."

It was a command. Nobody _commanded_ her to do anything! However, the instant her eyes shot open, connecting with his in anger to give him a piece of her mind, the evil jerk bit down on her earlobe, effectively causing her to slump back against him with a jolt and a gasp.

Okay. That was just plain dirty!

When she ventured opening her eyes again, she saw the unhidden warning shinning in the Osmosian's. He wasn't going to relent in this. She huffed in defeat and shouted as loud as she could so that her parents in the jewelry section could hear her, "Daddy!"

She was immediately echoed a response from her father who was somewhere towards the middle of the store. He also vociferated loud enough to carry to wherever she was. "Yes, Pumpkin!"

The raven-haired teen instantly straightened, sending her a panicked look. "What are you doing?" This came out in a disgruntled hiss.

She raised a confused eyebrow at his mirror image in response, replying candidly, "I didn't bring any money. Dad has to get it for me."

Understanding illuminated the dark teen's demeanor and he promptly called out in response to the redhead's father. "Never mind, sir. I got this!" He shot a hand up to muffle the protest of the girl in his arms, waiting for affirmation.

It was surprisingly subitaneous. "Are you sure, Kevin?

He submerged a pleased shudder at the sensation the redhead biting down hard on his hand shot down his spine. Did she think she was actually _hurting_ him? He tried to ignore it, responding quickly. "Yes, sir. Everything's under control." He drowned out the snickering of the clerk, his best friend and the ebony in an effort to catch the older man's reply.

"Alright, Kevin. I trust you."

"Well _that's_ certainly misplaced!" The wielder of the Omnitrix ventured mockingly from somewhere behind them. His girlfriend's giggles intensified.

Kevin pointedly ignored him, focusing his attention once again fully on the girl in his arms. He lowered his hand away from her mouth, but before she could voice a complaint about her mistreatment, she released a surprised gasp.

He was once again grasping the fabric at her thigh, holding her impossibly crushed to him and burning her eyes with his as he nearly growled in her ear. "This is mine!"

The predatorily possessive look he was giving her, made her stomach drop and her mouth run dry. She found the ambiguity in that statement terrifying, enthralling and exhilarating all in one. Was he referring to the kimono, or what was under it?

Oh, yes! Whatever this dangerous maniac was referring to was decidedly his. She didn't have the willpower to care otherwise when he looked at her like _that_!

At her submissive aspect, the Osmosian placed a sweet kiss that held nothing of the characteristics his previous heated eyes displayed against her temple and turned to the clerk. "She'll take the outfit. She'll also need those little socks with the toes, the sandals that simpleton is messing with-" He gestured at the brunette who was failingly trying to walk in a pair of Japanese geta. He flailed his arms before holding on to his girlfriend to keep from falling forward flat on his face.

"Hey! _You_ try walking in these things and do better! This is worse than walking in heels!" When both girls _and_ the clerk sent shocked questioning glares his way, he shot an accusing finger up at the evilly grinning older teen, elaborating. "The psychopath dared me! He said I couldn't do it! I had to prove him wrong!"

The boy's girlfriend patted his back in a commiserating way while attempting to send a recriminating glare at the offending teen. The fact that she was trying desperately to keep a snicker from escaping caused her to fail miserably, though. She settled on helping him put his sneakers back on, then pulled on his arm to look at the more elegant kimono on display while their friends finished their purchase.

As they perused the collection, they came across the most exquisite white Kimono Julie had ever seen and she'd seen a few- considering her parents hailed from this country. She turned in the direction of the clerk and vociferated in what was almost an awed gasp. "Uwa ̄ ! Kore wa utsukushīdesu! Korehanandesuka."

Ben's eyes almost popped out of their sockets! He placed both hands on the tiny Asian American's shoulders and violently turned her completely to face him, absolute dismay painted all over his face. "You speak Japanese! Why haven't you ever spoken Japanese before! You can totally watch the original Sumo Slammers without any subtitles! You are the coolest girlfriend ever!"

A flattered blush inadvertent crept into the ebony's cheeks as she giggled lightly, responding to the most obvious of the boy's ranting. "Of course I speak my parent's language, Ben! And, why would I speak it to you? You wouldn't understand a word I'm saying!"

The boy looked positively affronted by this. "I don't care if I can't understand you! You totally sound like one of those anime chicks! Do you have any idea how _hot_ that is?" He waved his hands exasperatedly in the air to punctuate his statement, failing entirely to see the girl's parents coming up behind him.

"Excuse you, Tennyson? What did you just say about my daughter?"

The amount of color that drained from the brunette as he turned to face the Japanese man was nothing short of miraculous, considering his natural pallor. He stuttered to form a response, then finally raised both hands in surrender. What was the point? The man thought he was trash either way.

His girlfriend recaptured his hand, sending him a reassuring smile before regarding her mother excitedly. "Have you ever seen such a beautiful kimono, Mom?" She turned back to look at the outfit that better qualified as artwork.

The older Japanese woman sent a knowing look and soft smile at the back of her daughter's head. "Of course I have! This is an Uchikake… one of the oldest traditions in our homeland. It is the traditional Japanese wedding dress."

The little ebony placed her hand against the glass enclosure, wishing she could touch it, her intonation once again coming in a reverent whisper. "It is so beautiful!"

"How do the brides walk in it?" Pointed out the ginger that was now joining the small group accompanied by her boyfriend and the clerk. "It looks too long for anyone shorter than eight feet to walk in."

Mrs. Yamamoto giggled briefly at the memories that particular feature of this garment evoked. "No one can really walk in it on their own. It is the duty and privilege of what you would call the 'Maid of Honor' to hold as much of the dress as possible up so that the bride does not trip. If she does a good job, everything goes off without a hitch. If she's as clumsy as my cousin was… you both end up with sprained ankles!"

Mr. Yamamoto actually started snickering at this impasse as well.

The oldest teen narrowed his eyes suspiciously, scrutinizing the outfit before turning to the clerk. "So how much do one of these Uchi-doo-hickeys go for? I noticed it's the only one behind bullet proof glass."

The young woman smiled and attempted to explain the figures as best she could in what little broken English she spoke. "It cost around eleven thousand dollar to buy." At the expected widening of all the teenagers' eyes in her direction, she explained with humor. "Today, almost no one buys. They rent. It three thousand dollar to rent."

The Japanese American let out a slow, slightly disappointed whistle, before sending a longing look at the hanging kimono. "Buying it is almost three times as much as a western style gown and there is no way anyone in this country is spending that much money to rent what they can own for less." She turned to the brunette with a sad smile and a wink. "If we ever get married, I'm definitely going traditional American all the way!"

The wielder of the Omnitrix rewarded her smile with an appreciative one of his own, placing an arm around her slender shoulders. However, regardless of how dense he was at times, he hadn't missed that look of child-like enthusiasm she'd worn when picturing herself in the kimono. He made a secret promise to himself he'd get one for her when they were ready to get married. She deserved that and so much more.

The ebony's mother regarded the couple introspectively, then the garment, before speaking up. "If you want a traditional Uchikake for your wedding, Julie, you need not buy one."

The woman's husband turned stern eyes to object right there. "Hold on! What are you doing? If she marries Tennyson-"

His wife held up a firm halting hand, speaking in an authoritative tone none of the teenagers had ever heard the mild-mannered woman use. "This does_ not _concern you, with all due respect. It is _my_ dowry. I am entitled to do with it as I please."

She then turned to her daughter, her eyes and tone softening. "Twelve generations ago on my side of the family, we were part of the royal family, Julie. One of my ancestors was an empress. Her Uchikake has been passed down from mother to eldest daughter in my family for three-hundred years. It is magnificent! It certainly puts this," She gestured to the hanging garment, "to shame. It is woven of the finest silk and interwoven with silver thread. It has been appraised at well over two hundred thousand dollars American. It is why I have no pictures in it. There was no digital photography when your father and I were married and it was feared the flash would damaged the sensitive antique silk."

The Japanese American girl's eye's watered unwittingly as her mother closed the gap between them, bringing both hands up to cup her face lovingly. "Regardless of who you choose to marry," She shot a tired glance the brunette's way, "that kimono is your birthright, as far as I'm concerned. Just say the word and we'll go together to Kyoto, to the bank it is being preserved, so you can wear it at your wedding."

Tears flowed freely now, as Julie wrapped her mother up in the tightest bear hug she could muster. She choked out happily, "Thank you so much, Mommy!

The older Japanese women only smiled congenially at her as she pulled back, wiping at her tears with her thumbs. "No need to thank me, Love." Then, turning to her husband, she stated. "I'm starving... Let's get the other old folks and hit the restaurant upstairs."

Following act, she pulled the Japanese man away to join up with Gwen and Ben's parents. The last thing the teens heard as the Asian couple moved away was something akin to, "I really don't want her marrying that Tennyson boy, you know!" which received the half-hearted, patronizing response, "I know dear… there, there…"

The Osmosian chortled, leveling a cruel glance at his best friend and wrapping an arm around his redhead's shoulder as he guided her to follow the elders out of the store. "Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials, Tennyson. Girl's even got the dress picked out! She's got you line, hook and sinker!" He cringed and yelped an audible 'Oof' when the ginger elbowed him in the ribs hard for his effort.

The comment had the desired effect on his target, however. Ben's eyes widened to the size of saucers in horror and he went rigid next to his girlfriend, stopping dead in his tracks to contemplate the enormity of what had just transpired. It wasn't that he didn't see a future with Julie. Honestly, he couldn't imagine one without her. Nevertheless, the between _here_ and _there_ had never occurred to him. Had he mentioned the fact that he was only seventeen?

When the teen next to her suddenly stopped moving (and seemingly breathing) at his friend's comment, Julie instantly turned worried eyes on him. She couldn't help the smile that replaced her apprehensive expression once, she saw the adorably petrified anxiety written all over his face.

She took advantage of his distracted state to quickly, peck him on the lips, gaining his attention immediately as he tried to respond to it. She pulled away far too quickly however, swaying her hips teasingly as she walked away, calling back. "As if I'd even marry you! I have better things to do, you know."

He was upon her and crushing her to him within a second. No one ever gave the kid credit for his agility when not transformed. She giggled as he tickled her tummy for teasing him. "You can go ahead and do whatever you have to do. Get it out of your system."

He now turned her so that their faces where inches apart and she brought her arms up around his neck. "But you know that when you're done… You'll come back. I'm irresistible."

She quirked an annoyed, thin, dark eyebrow and opened her mouth to retaliate about where exactly he could shove his machismo when his mouth hindered her efforts by crushing into hers bruisingly. His devious tongue taking advantage of the fact that she was about to speak to make a very conspicuous appearance against the roof of her mouth.

The last cogent thought she managed to concoct before slipping into the bliss that was the teenager's practiced kiss was. '_God! I hate you **so much** for doing this to me_!'

_Fin_

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><p><strong>AN: To anyone who reads Japanese Romaji, I deeply apologize for butchering the syntax of your beautiful language. I know very little of this foreign tongue but Mr. Yamamoto is **_**supposed**_** to be asking, "From Where in Japan are you ? Which prefecture is your family from?" and Julie is **_**supposed**_** to be saying "Wow! This is beautiful! What is this?" I know there isn't a question mark at the end, but I wasn't sure if one belonged there in this tense. It's been three years since I've attempted to write ANYTHING in Romaji. Once again, I mean no disrespect.**

**Well? This one was a little different! This took an indescribable amount of research and study to write! I really hope I don't have another one of these in me! At least, no one can complain about Benlie and Gwevin not getting equal billing!XD**

**Please Review!**


	8. The Problem with Plushies

**I need to thank everyone who has read an reviewed this little inane drabble of mine. I especially want to thank Sammyantha221 for all the support she gives me behinds the scenes and SonoEcho who constantly reminds me how precious the perspective of youth can be to someone who no longer possesses that particular quality. To ParamoreXO... thank you for your amazing feedback and continuing inspiration... Brandirandom? School is more important than fan fiction any day my friend! Dark Shining Light, take your time... I know you'll give us greatness...**

**Also, a general note to all who review: I don't want praise at the cost of recognition to anyone's own self worth. Saying my stuff is awesome and yours is awful only serves to hurt me terribly, so please... appreciate yourselves as much I appreciate all of you!  
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**Okay! Time to torture Kevin! Show of hands! Who's been waiting for this one? This (like much of my Kevin) is inspired by my husband, who won't allow me to hug the **©Disney** mascots and a really warped episode of C.S.I. I once saw.  
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**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Kevin's connection in Florida had only been adamant about him visiting a handful of restaurants within the parks. The one he, his friends and their parents were currently sitting at had been second on the list and one of the few that actually required a reservation.<p>

They were at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom Park, apparently renowned for a very unique dining experience, according to the Osmosian's friend in this state. Although, she wasn't particularly clear on what made this restaurant so special and seemingly endlessly packed to the brim with excited children and families.

It seemed innocuous enough to the dark-haired teen when he first entered hand-in-hand with his red head. The bubbly, insanely kind hostess lead them to the two separate booths he had previously reserved so that the teens and the older generation could be spared the 'delight' of the camaraderie during the meal.

They deserved the break.

The expectedly hospitable waitress came up to them after they were seated and explained how the ridiculously diverse buffet worked (As if that needed explanation... get a plate, get food, sit and eat. Did Ben_ look _mentally handicapped outwardly, or something?) So, pretty much everything about this place was what he'd come to expect from every other eating establishment in this theme park since arriving a few days prior.

It wasn't until everyone was seated and had commenced eating that the first shrill of excitement from what sounded like a toddler rang out from somewhere in the general direction of the kitchen. About a dozen others, matching it in pitch and effervescence, instantly echoed it. It is _not_ humanly (alien hybrid or not) possible to ignore this kind of sudden upheaval. Therefore, the Osmosian along with all the members of his booth shot rather frazzled eyes up in the direction of the raucous the instant it erupted. That was decidedly a mistake in the raven-haired teen's part, if the way his left eye started twitching in poorly masked disgust was any indication.

The first thought that rang through his mind in that whisper of a millisecond was, '_I_ _will **kill** that crazy Cuban... for sending me here!_'

His lunch companions, however, were blissfully unaware of the oldest teen's discomfort. The two females in their group actually began shrieking as loudly as the children in this place! They literally jumped and clapped with excitement as Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet made their way from table to table, signing autographs and posing with the guests for pictures.

When the little ebony finally lost her patience waiting for the merry band to reach their booth and made to get up, pulling the ginger with her in the direction of the beloved Disney mascots, the unholy dam broke!

Kevin's arm wrapped around the unsuspecting teenaged Anodyte's waist so quickly and roughly, he actually knocked the wind out of her as she slammed back down on the seat crushed to his body.

Once her momentarily addled thoughts collected and she was able to register her surroundings again, the redhead's eyes widened. Though, she wasn't certain if it was from the pain in her ribs at her boyfriend's triturating grip around her waist or the venom present in his unbelievably threatening baritone as he literally growled into her neck. "There is no WAY you're getting anywhere near any of those THINGS!"

Gwen was actually starting to panic a little now. Few people knew just how unstable the young man beside her could become- she was one of the fortunate few. However, this completely unexpected change in him was troubling, to say the least. He tended not to think straight when he became completely distraught and for some unfathomable reason, he was decidedly distraught at the moment. She needed to get him out of whatever panic attack he was suffering and under control fast!

Nevertheless, even more urgently, she needed to breathe! She brought both hands up to dig her short nails into the Osmosian's hands in an effort to zap him out of whatever recess of his mind he'd reverted into and wheezed out. "Kevin… you're… hurting… me…"

As if realizing where he was for the first time, the oldest teen instantly relented his grip with a shocked gasp, letting the ginger fall forward against the table. She immediately wrapped her arms around herself to massage her bruised ribcage, sending a look swirling with annoyance, concern and unbridled confusion at the teenager beside her.

Of course, by this point the other two members of their lunch party had noticed their little spat and turned to face the couple, the ginger's cousin's emerald eyes instantly blazed up in recrimination towards his best friend upon seeing her hunched over, obviously in pain. "Dude! What did you do to her?"

The raven-haired teen's nearly-deranged with grief onyx eyes shifted frantically from his aching girlfriend to lock with those of the younger male teen in completely shocked attrition. He fumbled to find his voice. "I- I didn't... I wasn't... It was a mistake..!" This was released from his throat in an almost tortured moan.

The ginger beside him didn't falter a moment before coming to his defense, turning a chastising glare on her cousin. "Chill, Ben! I get hurt much worse than this in Karate practice on a daily basis. I just wasn't expecting to be tackled down in the middle of lunch..." She turned a smirk that was curiously a cross between mocking and accusatory toward her boyfriend before continuing, directing the rest of the statement at him. "You feel like explaining _why_ I was tackled during my meal, Kev?"

The oldest teen narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't particularly appreciate that derisive little grin or tone she was bestowing upon him. Okay! So, he'd inadvertently been too rough with her when he grab her, but he had a perfectly rational explanation (at least, what passed for rational in the guy's mind). She didn't have to get snippy with him over it! He crossed his arms over his chest challengingly, a gesture that caused an insane amount of muscle tissue to bulge on said appendages, leveling an icy glare back at the offending ginger. "I don't want either you nor Julie going anywhere near those _freaks_." He deadpanned as if this was completely logical, gesturing with his head toward the group of characters.

The Japanese American, who was still on her feet, followed his eyes in a failing attempt to comprehend whom he was referring to. Upon realizing he spoke about the costumed entertainers, she turned questioning almond hazel eyes back to him. "You mean Pooh and the Gang?" When the morose teen nodded an affirmation, a cautious smile broke out on her face and she slowly sat back down, leaning forward and interlacing her fingers on the table in rapt attention. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the Osmosian across from her, the smile never leaving her features. "Oh! I have to hear _this_! This is going to be _epic_!"

The dark teen's eyes now narrowed at the condescendingly smiling little Asian American. He clicked his tongue, directing his next comment at the brunette next to her, although his eyes never wavered from hers. "Is your girl making fun of me, Tennyson?"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix was stuck between a rock and a hard place here. The only response he could muster was a wave of his left hand in a gesture that seemed to communicate, '_What do you honestly expect, Dude?_', his right hand otherwise occupied pretending to stroke his chin in contemplation. In reality, he was trying to cover up his own smirk at his best best's lunacy.

Not all this, of course, went unnoticed by the rather unexpectedly adroit dark teen. He rolled his eyes, letting out a derisive scoff in annoyance at his companions' collective skepticism before replying defensively. "I saw this cop show once were they explained about these sickos. They get off on dressing up like animals and do all kinds of sick things in the costumes and to stuffed animals. You two," He gestured at both honestly confused girls, "are staying right here!"

The instant his words ebbed, Ben broke into such hysterical laughter that he was literally sliding down from the booth, under the table. His girlfriend's laughter chorused seconds after, as did that of the ginger's. Though to her credit, she tried to keep it as subdued as possible, noting how it was seriously aggravating the guy she loved.

The oldest teen brought both fists down on the table so hard it creaked in protest. He didn't bother checking the volume or threat in his baritone as he growled at all three of them. "You people think this is a freaking joke? These people are seriously sick!"

His obviously distraught tone sobered his girlfriend enough to place a hand on his shoulder, bringing his enraged coal eyes to land on her. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze in an effort to calm him before speaking, her voice soft and placating as possible. "Kevin, I'm positive Disney would NOT hire plushophiles, furries or yiffs to be their mascots in a park visited by millions of children."

"Oh my God! That's actually a real _thing_! The psycho didn't just conjure that up in his own warped mind? 'Cause that totally sounds like another one of his paranoid delusional theories!" The ginger had to tug down hard with both hands on the Osmosian's shoulder to keep him from leaping over the table at his best friend and beating him to a pulp.

She locked matching emerald eyes with her cousin who was still snickering in a tired disapproving sneer. "It's a sick fetish and the people who do it are part of a pretty disturbed subculture." Then, softening her expression, she lifted a hand to cup her boyfriend's cheek, turning his scowling face from invoking death upon the brunette to meet hers. There was no mockery in her voice as she spoke, only commiserating affection. "I'm sure _these_ mascots are not that kind of people, Kevin."

At the soft contact of her silken hand against his face and her unbelievably soothing voice, the Osmosian couldn't help but allow his anger to mitigate. She always had an amazingly assuaging affect on him. However, his intrinsic contumacy simply would not allow him to drop this particular subject. "You don't know that! What kind of weirdo volunteers for a job wearing a full body fur costume in Florida's hundred degree weather only to be pawed and kicked and barfed on by little kids if they don't secretly get off on it?"

At this juncture, the ginger was starting to question her _own_ sanity. That last argument from the raven-haired teen had actually sounded perfectly rational and logical to her. Was she spending too much time with this man? Was there such a thing as communicable psychosis? God! She truly hoped not!

Her musing was interrupted by Julie's resolute huff as she stood up once more, shooting a defiant glare at the Osmosian adjacent her. "Well I'm getting a picture with Tigger, thank you very much-" When the dark teen opened his mouth to contravene, she quickly shot a warning index finger up in his direction, continuing."No, Kev! I appreciate your trying to protect us, but honestly, guys have been openly undressing both Gwen and me with their eyes since we arrived here. I'm guessing you two are making a conscious effort to ignore that. Anything those mascots," she pointed at the cast of characters at a nearby table, "do in their break time can't be any creepier than being openly gawked at by a forty-year-old man standing next to his wife while buying ice-cream for their little boys!"

"I have absolutely no idea when I'll get the chance to come back here, so I'm going over there and getting my picture taken by _my_ boyfriend, if he knows what's good for him, with my favorite childhood character! Come on, Ben!" The brunette sent an innocent shrug the Osmosian's way as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket, letting his little ebony pull him away.

The Anodyte tapped her fingers on the table anxiously before making up her mind, getting up. She instantly felt a vice grip on her wrist. He didn't even allow her to turn before he spoke. "What do you think you're doing?"

She turned to face him with a guilty yet eager glint in her emerald eyes and a hopeful smile. "Honestly, Kevin! The girl makes a strong case! I want a picture with Piglet! I promise, just one picture and I'll come right back... Please!"

She used that godforsaken inflection that made her sound like she was three again. He hated when she used that voice, mostly because it cajoled him into going along with anything she wanted...

He grudgingly released her, promptly crossing his arms again and slumping back into the booth with a petulant pout. She leaned down to place a grateful peck on his cheek before bounding off to join the others with a resounding, "Thank you so much, Kev! Be right back!"

The Osmosian just sat there, sulking and staring at the table as he waited for his friends to return from what he deemed a dangerous and frivolous undertaking. So engrossed was he in his thoughts, he failed to notice the rather large orange individual sidling up to him. It wasn't until said individual ventured to ruffle the raven-haired teen's hair that his scandalized obsidian eyes shot up to meet the dead black plastic circles that passed for those of this character's.

Considering how flammable nylon is, the enraged inferno burning in those onyx eyes would have caused instantaneous combustion to overtake that poor creature if such a thing were possible. The character actually took two steps back and brought his chunky hands up to what was his permanently smiling face once the teen turned to regard him, the spite and bluster in his tenor as scalding as his gaze. "DUDE! YOU DID _NOT_ JUST _TOUCH_ ME!"

Needless to say, the next five minutes of Benjamin Kirby Tennyson's life were spent trying to pry a psychotically indignant Osmosian who rained volley after volley of punishment to the mascot's body from atop a helplessly flailing Winnie the Pooh.

The next hour he spent using his status and notoriety as the Savior of the Universe to keep his best friend out of jail for assault.

Kevin Ethan Levin is still banned from The Crystal Palace forever, however.

This arrangement suits the Osmosian just fine...

_FIN_

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><p><strong>AN****: I know! Disturbingly random! Few of you know the roller coaster of emotions I have been through while writing this. This is the end result. I know it isn't one of my best, but there were times where I literally laughed out loud while writing this! How twisted is my humor? If anyone who reads this is into this fetish... feel free to flame!  
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**Please Review!**


	9. A World of Discoveries

**This was _supposed_ to be short and sweet...**

**I have absolutely no control of these things whatsoever! This is based off a comment ParamoreXO made back on the first installment about what a shame it was that Kevin's mom didn't make it on this trip. So, I decided to do a little future snippet about what their next trip would be like once they had kids and Mrs. Levin came along. Then, I started prattling on and it turned into_ this_ mess! Sorry readers! I want to thank all off you who read and review this. And to anyone who's noticed the weird guy who keeps leaving 'I love you' reviews... Yeah... that's my husband, not a stalker. He's... special...XD**

**I love you too, baby!(This is totally pointless. Hes' way too lazy to ever read anything this long...)  
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**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>The middle-aged, raven-haired woman couldn't help the smile that crept across her uncharacteristically youthful lips at the ten-month-old cradled in her arm's third attempt at wrestling the bottle she currently held up to her little suckling mouth out of her hands.<p>

The infant scrunched her face up in what was an obvious prelude to a crying tantrum, before spitting out the nipple and releasing an impressive ear-splitting shriek upon not getting her way.

Curiously, the smirk on the face of the woman holding her only grew as she rocked the baby in a failing attempt to console her. She cooed to her as softly as she could muster, considering her voice was lazed with humor and whit. "Where exactly did you inherit that attitude from, young lady?"

At this point, the discomfited infant had garnished the attention of the three-year-old who had until a moment ago been playing on his hand-held video game, sitting quietly on the wooden bench next to her. He tucked the game neatly into the pocket of the baby bag beside him and scooted up closer to the woman, leaning forward and reaching out his hand to rub the tummy of the crying baby. He looked up with large green eyes to gain her attention, speaking in that deadpan manner intrinsic to all very small children. "She don't like it when you feed her like that, Grandma. Here! Give her to me..." He sat back, outstretching both his short arms expectantly.

The elder sent him a skeptical look, measuring her response to make it sound as kind as possible, as she continued rocking the crying child in her arms. He was only a very young boy after all. "Devy, I think she's too small for you to carry on your own yet, Sweetheart."

His response was a sincere furrowing of his small eyebrows in confusion, large eyes darting to the two-year-old laying comfortably in the stroller adjacent the bench they currently sat on, contently suckling on his own bottle. He pointed at him before replying. "I carry _him_ all the time and he's way bigger! If you don't give her to me, she won't stop cryin'. She's makin' my head hurt!"

Her eyes traveled to the blissfully unaware chestnut-haired toddler in the stroller, then back to her own grandson, who was becoming fidgety with impatience. The difference in size between the two boys was obvious. Devlin was easily twice Kenny's size. That knowledge, however, didn't keep her from wondering: Why would anyone_ allow_ a three-year-old to_ carry_ a two-year-old?

Then, she quickly thought better of it and realized that at least the first incidence of that happening was likely_ not_ because anyone _allowed_ it.

Her grandson notoriously bored astonishingly fast and came up with the strangest ways to distract himself. These 'distractions' often involved his younger second cousin. In fact, according to her daughter-in-law, the way they'd figured out a couple of months ago that the boy had an Anodytic spark, was because he'd come up with the brilliant idea to wrap the tiny brunette in a manna bubble while attempting to levitate him.

Needless to say, Devlin got a very in depth explanation about the fact that his cousins were entirely _human_ and therefore very fragile in comparison to him (not an easy thing to explain to a three-year-old), followed up by an unprecedented amount of parental supervision for the next couple of weeks subsequent that incident.

This incident also served to further cement in everyone's mind what had become painfully obvious once he started speaking in full sentences at eighteen months... his intelligence was off the charts!

Keeping all this in mind and growing slightly frustrated at the miserably crying infant in her arms, the woman let out a defeated breath. She leaned over, gingerly placing the baby girl into her grandson's small arms, wary of any sign that he might not have total control of her. At the first sign of jostling, she fully intended to wrench the little girl back before he dropped her.

To her surprise, though it really shouldn't have been, once the small boy had the little girl in his arms, he maneuvered her with a practiced dexterity, she hadn't even witnessed from her own father as of yet. He propped her up on his little lap, bracing her against his upper body, while wrapping his left arm around her tightly. Once the infant's vantage point changed and she could see the passersby in the park, she quickly stifled her crying and began cooing giddily at the new fascinating people.

Satisfied that the ringing in his own aching ears had ebbed, Devlin turned to his grandmother with a self-satisfied grin, outstretching his hand. "Hand me the bottle, Grandma."

The elder narrowed her coal eyes at him somewhat reprovingly. That smug little tone he was using was far too familiar for her liking! How many of her son's less endearing qualities had this kid inherited? She was still the adult here! She grudgingly passed him the bottle so that he could feed the little girl, the aforementioned using her own tiny chubby hands to prop up the bottle her older cousin was in actuality holding (she liked feeling useful, darn it!).

Just as the raven-haired woman was about to educate him on the proper use of the words 'please' and 'thank you', however, she was interrupted by a distinctly masculine chuckle emanating from beside her on her blind side.

"Let me guess. You tried to feed her on her back. Yeah! She really hates that!"

She turned promptly to find the children's parents joining her, noting the ginger's usually pallid features were slightly tinged a sickly green. She suppressed her concern for the young woman momentarily in order to send a reproachful if humiliated glare her cousin's way. "Thank you, Benjamin. I'm not humiliated enough about the fact that my three-year-old grandson knows how to feed an infant better than me!" Then, allowing the previous concern to seep into her voice and expression, she regarded the young Anodyte coming to sit beside her young son. "Are you alright, Gwen?"

The redhead continued applying pressure to both her tightly shut eyes with her thumb and index finger in a failing attempt to stave off the nausea. She held up the other hand in a _'give me a second'_ gesture. She had to use a lot off will power to keep that gesture from turning vulgar once she heard both her cousin and husband begin to snicker.

"Give her some credit. At least she didn't decorate the bushes with her breakfast this time around!" Even the tiny ebony, who was busy leaning over the stroller to check on her oldest child had to instantly bring a hand up to her mouth in order to muffle the laughter that memory evoked.

Gwen, however, found absolutely no humor in it. She brought her hand down away from her face to lock her scalding emerald eyes with the mirthful coals that were her husband's in a spine-tingling dangerous sneer. "Congratulations, Kevin! I'm sleeping in your mother's room for the rest of the trip! Have fun with that! I'm never going on Space Mountain again!"

The Osmosian visibly cringed in response as his best friend's snickering actually intensified beside him. He instinctively raised a fist to Charlie-horse the bastard in the shoulder when three scandalized female voices chorused simultaneously. "Kevin! Not in front of the kids! What's wrong with you?"

The raven-haired man opened his hand just before it made contact with the brunette, managing to just slap him on the shoulder almost amicably. When the wielder of the Ultimatrix turned to him with a triumphant mocking smirk, he tightened his vice-like grip on the younger man's clavicle until he had no choice but to slump slightly from the pain, tightening his own hands into fists. The older man grit out through a fake, forced smile and clenched jaw. "Don't test me, Tennyson! You're lucky my boy's here as it is."

Ben narrowed his own eyes menacingly at the older man, managing to straighten himself to his full height through the pain the Osmosian was inflicting on his shoulder. He brought a hand up to slap his best friend on the back just as deceptively convivially, if it weren't for the fact that the force of the impact nearly propelled the older man forward. He mimicked the Osmosian's spurious grin as their eyes locked in a furious glaring contest.

This rather underwhelming demonstration of maturity on the part of the two men was interrupted by the rather unimpressed and somewhat insulted voice of the little boy on the bench, who was staring at them with one eyebrow quirked up in disbelieve. "Daddy, Uncle Ben… I can tell you two are hurtin' one another. I'm little- not dumb!"

His mother laughed freely, wrapping both arms around him and the little girl he still held in his arms tightly, lifting them both onto her lap with some effort. Devlin leaned into his mother's chest as she placed a kiss to the crown of his head before looking up at the two separating men who both wore sheepish expressions. She pretended she was directing her next comment at the little boy in her arms. "You're not so little, Devy! In fact, sometimes I think you're a bigger man than every other guy in this family!"

The derision didn't go unnoticed by its targets, who both crossed their arms, sending insulted glares at the superiorly grinning Anodyte.

The little boy giggled at the adult's silly faces while his aunt took his baby cousin out of his arms and placed her in the stroller next to her older brother for a nap. She fidgeted for a moment at the unwelcome change in position before quickly dozing off.

Julie then took the empty bottles from both her children and put them into the basket under the stroller, turning to her son with an encouraging smile. She cooed gently, "Come on Kenny! Say mommy! Talk for mommy, Sweetie! M-O-M-M-Y…"

Curiosity got the better of the older toddler at seeing his aunt's odd behavior and he promptly climbed off his mother's lap, coming to stand by the stroller to look at the little innocently smiling brunette quizzically. Then he turned those large, emerald, questioning eyes on the Japanese American. "What're you doin' to Kenny, Aunt Julie?"

The ebony turned her head only slightly in the direction of her nephew to reply, too concentrated on spurring her little boy on. "I'm trying to get Kenny to say his first word, Dev. He's a little overdue, but sometimes it takes boys a little longer. Doesn't it, baby?" She punctuated her statement by tickling her little boy's tummy, who in turn giggled at the gesture.

Now Devlin's little eyebrows knit together in complete, utter confusion. He looked up at his father and uncle in almost concerned befuddlement, but they didn't seem at all worried about the oddity of his aunt's statement. Therefore, he turned back to look at his grandma and mother, both of whom wore curious smiles at his odd expression. Finally, he couldn't take all of them acting so strange anymore and blurted out frustrated, "Kenny talks! He talks all the time! No one here has ever heard him talk?"

Simultaneously, all the adults erupted into laughter. Kevin knew his son was very bright for his age and psychologists had already warned them that overactive imaginations came with that particular quirk, but he didn't expect his son to invent an entire language for his baby cousin! He leaned down on his haunches so that he was halfway at eye level to the boy, ruffling his hair as he spoke jovially. "Not every kid's as advanced as you, Squirt. The average boy starts using words right around Kenny's age and sentences a few months later on. You probably imagined him talking when you were playing make believe with him."

Devlin was positively indignant at his father's insinuation! He balled his tiny hands into fists at his sides, stumping his foot and vociferating adamantly, "I'm not makin' it up, Daddy! He talks! I can prove it! Look!"

He quickly dashed to his grandmother's purse and pulled out her phone. Then, he ran back to the stroller where his cousin was sitting up, looking at him expectantly. The tiny raven-haired child narrowed his eyes warningly at him before asking in a demanding voice, "Say somethin', Kenny!"

The brunette actually had the audacity to pull his pacifier into his mouth, wrapping his arms around himself and shaking his head vigorously in response.

The response from the livid little three-year-old was instantaneous. He reached into the stroller and started tickling the little boy mercilessly. The younger boy was literally gasping for air. "If you don't ask me to stop, I'll do it forever, Kenny! Talk!"

All the adults gathered around the stroller witnessing this either smiled or laughed. The Savior of the Universe turned to his best friend and gasped out, "Twenty bucks says he can't tickle him into talking."

The Osmosian instantly spoke up with unbridled challenge in his baritone. "You're on, Tennyson!"

What the little boy did next, however, sucked both the humor and the breath out of every single member of his family present.

At his cousin's stubborn unwillingness to talk after being tickled for what felt to him like forever, Devlin took his tiny arm in one hand and his grandma's phone in the other and proceeded to absorb all the charge in the phone's battery, sending it into the little boy's body through his arm, effectively electrocuting him- if only slightly.

The little boy jolted slightly at the shock. He didn't like it. He tried to pull away from his cousin failingly. The older boy only shook his head and commanded firmly. "I'll stop if you ask, Kenny! Talk!" Another bolt of electricity into the brunette toddler's arm followed this and another jolt. Only this time, it was also accompanied by a pained wail from the younger boy. "'kay! Stop! Hurts!"

The little boy released him instantly, crying out excitedly, smiling. "See! I told you he talks! He's just lazy!" His smile dropped, however, the moment his eyes moved away from his softly whimpering cousin to survey the adults in his family. They were all staring at him with an emotion he didn't even recognize, but he instinctively knew meant something was very, very wrong. It terrified him!

Ben was the first to be able to form words after what they had just witnessed, but they weren't entirely coherent. "D-did… did he just… I thought he was an Anodyte! Isn't he supposed to be an Anodyte…? God! Is Kenny alright?" He quickly picked his son up out of the stroller and into his arms, assessing him for any sign of serious injury. His wife was at his side just as quickly, doing the same.

Gwen dropped to her knees and brought her now terrified three-year-old son into her arms protectively, fighting back mortified tears as she stared up at her husband. He mirrored her despair in his onyx pools, only his mixed with a far more deeply seeded stigma. This was _his_ heritage- _his_ curse. This was a nightmare he believed his son had been spared.

From behind them, they heard the Osmosian's mother gasp out, clearly disgruntled. "For the love of God! Not my grandson, too!"

Her son had her in his strong arms in a second's time, stroking her back comfortingly. He spoke into her dark tresses with absolute conviction, suppressing his own fears and allowing her to melt into his chest. "It won't be like me with Devlin, Ma. I promise. I'll teach him. He'll know not to hurt people."

She inclined her head to lock matching obsidian eyes with him, deep grieving skepticism born from years of living something very different from what her son was promising, forbidding her from accepting his words. "You are just like _him_, Kevin! You do exactly what _he_ did! You chose to become a Plumber! If something were to ever happen to you and Gwen..."

"Then, _I_ would make sure he's trained to use his abilities correctly, Mrs. Levin. This was always a possibility- even before he was conceived. We weren't about to be irresponsible and not come up with a contingency plan for this, knowing what both of you suffered through when he was a kid." Ben gestured with his head toward his best friend reassuringly before finishing. "There's even a back-up plan in case all three of us can't see to it that he's taken care of... If none of us make it out of a mission, he'll be taken care of by the Plumbers in your late husband's home planet.

Regardless what age the boy Gwen held in her arms appeared (although it was closer to six than three), his keen perception and empathy allowed him to grasp what the adults were talking about far better than a child his age should. Certainly, far better than the emotional level of a boy his age could negotiate. He frantically shoved against his mother's chest in order to lock terrified matching emerald eyes with her, vociferating petrified. "You're sendin' me away? Why? What'd I do?"

At this, the tiny brunette toddler in Ben's arms began squirming uncontrollably, reaching his chubby arms out in the direction of his older cousin and crying out. "No! Devy stay! Don't go! Daddy down!" He turned and began shoving against his father with all his might using both arms and legs until his father had to set him down on the ground.

The tiny boy, promptly ran as fast as he could to his older cousin, wrapping his arms around him for dear life as if they would wrench the older boy from him. He started whimpering softly into the older boy's shirt, his little voice muffled by the fabric. "If Devy go, I go!"

Devlin sent a sad look down on the little boy holding him as he wrapped an arm around him, looking back up at his mother, who was actually smiling. He ventured a look at all the other adults and they were all grinning too. What was going on? Why were grown-ups so confusing? Was he in trouble or not? Why was no one trying to stop Kenny from crying against him?

His father came over and kneeled down before him as low he could, attempting to pry Kenny off of him. When the toddler didn't budge, however, he started chuckling, looking back at his uncle. "Little runt's stronger than he looks!" then turning back to his own son, he scrutinized him briefly before calling to the older brunette again. "Hey, Ben! Come over and look at Dev, Man! Does he look the same as I did when I absorbed energy to you?"

Ben quickly came over and leaned down to look at the little boy his son was clinging to and presently hiding his face against. The raven-haired boy looked slightly annoyed at being gawked at, but otherwise seemed perfectly normal. The brunette let out a surprised scoff before directing his comment at the older man beside him. "Nah, Kev. Your eyes were always bloodshot and you had some pretty gnarly dark circles under them. Not to mention, that whole not caring about anyone or anything when you were juiced. You went completely psychotic and lost all inhibitions. Devlin let go the second Kenny asked. He seems genuinely concerned for him- maybe more so than for himself by the way he's holding him. I don't think the electricity does anything to him."

His emerald eyes traveled down to the little brunette and he tousled his hair lovingly before finishing. "Besides, I don't think Kenny would be this adamant about sticking with someone who'd just really hurt him. I think he just zapped him a little and freaked him out. I don't think Devlin is even capable of hurting either of my kids on purpose."

At his uncle's words, something finally clicked in the young newly discovered Osmosian's mind. He instantly spoke up on his behalf; affront clear in his raised voice. "You think I _hurt_ 'im? Ticklin' Kenny with the 'lectricity in things doesn't hurt 'im! He likes it!" He paused a moment as if realizing something. He gazed down at his baby cousin questioningly and saw the boy was looking up at him guiltily. His face instantly turned attritional and concerned. He spoke more softly, addressing the tiny brunette. "Did I hurt you, Kenny?"

The little boy buried his face in his older cousin's shirt again, muffling his half abashed/half guilty reply. "You didn't let go. It feels bad if you don't let go."

Devlin wrapped his tiny cousin in his comparably far larger arms, staring up at his father and uncle again, his voice becoming an agonized whisper. "I wasn't tryin' for it to hurt! Honest! I didn't know it hurts! I just wanted him to talk to you guys! He likes makin' me look bad! Please, don't send me away! I won't ever do it again..."

Kevin's heart literally tore at hearing the pain in his little boy's words. He didn't even bother separating him from what had become his symbiotic cousin as he wrapped both boys in his arms, lifting them as he stood to his full height. He placed a soft firm kiss to his son's temple before looking him square in the eye and promising. "Believe me, Devlin. As long as there is breath in my lungs, you'll never be sent away from your mother and me. But, you need to tell me exactly what you did with Grandma's phone and how long you've been able to do this, Squirt."

His son scrunched up his little face in concentration, trying to remember _when_ he started taking electricity from things, the _how_ he didn't even bother with. It was beyond his ability to comprehend himself. His cousin answered for him enthusiastically, however. "Devy does it since always, Uncle Kev!" This elicited a chuckle from the Osmosian holding him.

He turned to the boy's parents, smiling. "That's certainly helpful!"

Julie walked up to him and took Kenny, the little boy finally relenting his grasp on his older cousin. She raised an eyebrow at the tall raven-haired man smugly, deadpanning matter-of-factually. "Actually, it is, Kevin. It means, Devlin's been doing this with Kenny for as long as Kenny can remember... that's likely a few months. Toddlers don't exactly have very established long term memory, you know."

Gwen spoke up now, slight awe coloring her inflection. "A few months? That would predate when he first showed signs of having an Anodytic spark. So, what are we talking about here? He's _both_? Is that even possible? Doesn't one of those abilities preclude the other? Should we ask Azmuth? Maybe he can figure out why he can do it without hurting himself the way you used to, Kev."

Kevin rolled his eyes at that last one before huffing out sarcastically. "Oh yeah, Gwen! Let's ask the guy who's deemed our son... What did he call him, again? Oh, that's right! A freakish phenomenon of interspecies hybridism! He doesn't even know _why_ Devlin exists! Much less, is he going to be able to figure _this_ out!" He turned back to his son, wracking his brain for the simplest way to formulate his inquiry so that the young child could give a more illuminating answer. "Dev, how did you shock Kenny with the electricity from the phone? Electricity is supposed to stay in electronics so that it doesn't shock people. How did you get the phone to shock your cousin without it hurting you?"

The little boy's eyes glinted with understanding instantly as he replied proudly. "It's just like what Mommy does with the purple energy, Daddy! She gets it out of things and uses it. It don't hurt _her_ and it don't hurt me. I do the same with TV's and stuff. It just comes out of them for me if I think about it coming out and I use it. It turns pink when I use it, though. I want it to be the same color as Mommy's. Pink's a girl color!"

The older Osmosian couldn't help chuckle at the frustrated little pout his little boy was wearing at the end of his statement. He'd worked himself into such a tiff over the color of his manna that he'd crossed his little arms and started sulking angrily by the end. He looked like Gwen when he sulked. He was positively adorable.

His wife smiled warmly as she surmised insightfully. "Basically, he's manipulating raw energy into manna. It's a complete fusion of both our abilities. Instead of one offsetting the other, his system actually synchronizes them in tandem with each other. From the sound of it, I don't even think he does it consciously."

"Is that even possible?" All eyes turned the little Japanese American whose son rested his head against the juncture of her neck and shoulder, almost dosing off.

Ben shrugged dismissively, pointing at his watch. "I can turn into around two thousand aliens in this thing that can do far stranger things than _that_. The kid's specific abilities are pretty unique for his parentage, but in the larger scale, he's just another alien hybrid. As long as he's properly trained, he shouldn't be any more dangerous than Gwen or Kevin separately. He just needs to be taught a mind-boggling amount of discipline and control if he doesn't notice he does that consciously. Even if he didn't hurt Kenny this time, he easily could have. It wouldn't even have been his fault. He's far too innocent to realize the repercussions of what he's doing naturally."

The young boy's grandmother now came to stand before him, a curious glint in her dark eyes. "Devy, can you touch things and make yours hands turn into them like your father can?"

Devlin's expression took a downturn before responding dejectedly, shaking his little head. "I tried, Grandma. It tries to come out to me when I touch things, but it's too hard."

When the older woman's expectedly confused eyes traveled up from her grandson to settle on her son, he supplied helpfully. "I didn't absorb matter until I was almost a teenager, Ma. It never even occurred to me to try. Electricity and raw energy are easy for us. They surge- pulse. They literally seek out hosts. We are natural carriers. Matter is non-kinetic. It took me an astronomical amount of concentration to be able to absorb it when I first tried. Now it's second nature. But, I doubt a three-year-old has the attention span necessary to put forth the kind of effort it takes to be able to pull that off, regardless of how intelligent and advanced he is. It'll probably be a couple of years before he can do that."

Ben now started shifting his weight impatiently. He didn't really possess an attention span much longer than that of a three-year-old himself and considering he saw this little problem solved, he was getting bored. He clapped his hands briskly, gaining everyone's attention. "Okay! Which ride should we head off to next? It should be something the boys can go on... I know! The Teacups!"

Julie giggled, throwing the baby bag over her shoulder and maneuvering the stroller with the sleeping Gwenny around, handing her oldest child over to her husband. "Ben, you _hate_ the Teacups."

The wielder of the Ultimatrix rounded on her instantly in his own defense. "I don't hate the Teacups! It's _your_ fault you traumatized me by linking that ride to my fears of becoming a father at _seventeen_! Don't put that on _me_! Besides, Gwen made us go on it when we were all teenagers with no children! How humiliating was it to stand in line to ride something meant for toddlers when you're way too old for it and can't even justify it by being there for your own kids?"

"Very!"

Ben shot a grateful look at his best friend just in time to catch his cousin elbowing him in the ribs for the veiled quip. He still replied back obviously. "Thank you!" He turned back to his wife with a smug smile. "See! The psychopath's on my side!"

"Psychopath your-"

"KEVIN! THE CHILDREN!" All three women in their group chorused scandalized.

Once again, the Osmosian found himself biting the inside of his cheek to refrain from biting back at the younger man. He made an inward promise to mutilate him in the parking lot of the hotel the moment the kids were in bed that night.

Bastard had to suffer.

He started walking away morosely in the general direction all the rides for the younger kids were located without bothering to wait for the rest of the group to follow, his three-year-old supported easily with one arm. The kid weighed nothing. He turned his head slightly in the direction he knew his wife would be joining him from, directing his retort at her. "You know he's baiting me, right? He knows exactly what he's doing! _And_ he knows exactly what I would've done to him four years ago... I better get some credit for not doing to him what he deserves!"

He heard the three women snickering behind him before his wife responded in a commiserating tone. "Tell you what, Kev... since you're being the bigger man here, I'll stay in our room the rest of the trip. How's that sound?" The Osmosian just scoffed at the patronizing offer, but perked up when the little ebony's voice chimed in, sweetening the pot. "And Devlin can have a sleep over with Kenny tonight in our room. You and Gwen can have your room all to yourselves. Ben gets to watch the boys for teasing you."

"Whoa! Wait! What?"

Kevin turned his evilly smirking face just in time to see the Savior of the Universe's wife bestowing a glare that clearly dared him to defy a single word she'd uttered. A noticeable subservient slump to the brunette's shoulders was her response. He was babysitting the boys so Kevin and his cousin could have a date night. There was no arguing that look from Julie Tennyson.

When they were almost at the Teacups, Ben suddenly gasped, shouting in complete outrage, "Everyone, stop! We forgot something!"

This, of course, caused everyone to turn concerned, frantic eyes to him. Kevin even tensing into a fighting stance in anticipation of what the man he'd grown to accept as Earth's protector perceived.

Upon having all their eyes on him, the wielder of the Ultimatrix held his two-year-old up to his face, narrowing his matching emerald eyes as he surveyed the innocently smiling toddler analytically. "How long have you been able to speak?"

His mother, Gwen and Julie all had to hold Kevin back from jumping his best friend.

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><p><strong>AN: Anyone notice how some of the really dumb ones that say nothing are just way too long? This isn't even the direction I wanted to go with this! I just started writing and this is what came out. I'm so sorry ParamoreXO! I will have to write another future snippet at some point in this thing depending on how long I make this because I really want to try the other direction I wanted to go with this and this was just too disappointing...**

**I don't blame you if you don't, but...**

**Please Review!**


	10. Terror in the Tower

**This is my personal favorite ride in all of Disney World. Once again, I need to thank every single person who is following and reviewing this story. Believe me when I tell you that you are often the only reason I even turn on the computer (or get out of bed, for that matter).XD**

**Shout out to my man, Adam (no way, am I using your pseudonym, Dude!XD) who's gone insane and decided to read and review pretty much every single thing I've written to date. Thanks for the support!**

**To Sammyantha221: Thank you so much for all your support in front and behind the scenes, my special little one!** **Please, slow down! I'm dying to know how it ends but with good writing- the journey very often is so much better than the destination and yours has such fascinating twists and turns to enjoy!**

**I know he or she might never read this as I have no idea if they sample my work, but The Cretin: I'm so sorry you live in Kentucky! I have several friends that have been impacted by the devastating tornadoes as well. We even feared for a while that one had not made it, as we didn't hear from him for a few days. You can imagine our relief upon learning he was fine. I hope you fared just as well!**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. The Twilight Zone® is a registered trademark of CBS, Inc. I own nothing! I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Most people notice it right away once they arrive at Disney's Hollywood Studios, if not entirely on a conscious level.<p>

It is noticeable from the parking lot and from the shuttle-bus drop-off point. However, it's very faint and easily dismissed.

Once one steps into the park and the humongous wizard hat with Mickey's trademark ears looms ahead, diverting ones enthralled imagination, one almost forgets it's there... almost... but not entirely.

It lingers. It nags. It begs exploration...

It's the _screaming_.

This is **not** comparable to the exhilarated, excited shouting one experiences while waiting in line to ride a roller coaster, which ebbs and flows with the bends and dips of the track.

This is different.

It's quality can best be defined as blood-curdling. It doesn't flow and ebb. One hears it and then it is suddenly clipped-off as if by the falling blade of a guillotine. Then, it reoccurs, maybe five seconds later, seemingly louder and more horrified, before once again, being cut off abruptly. This happens consecutively four or five times and then... ominous silence. That is until, about ten minutes later, the disturbing cycle repeats...

It is most noticeable in the earliest hours of the morning, which just happened to be the time Ben, Kevin, Gwen, Julie and all the parents arrived at the park. Having just arrived in Walt Disney World the previous day, they hoped to get the most exciting 'thrill' park out of the way early, so that they could relax the rest of the trip. They arrived just after the park opened in order to beat out the crowds.

Ben and his mother seemed the most susceptible to this peculiar sound amongst their group.

To the brunette, who'd been here before with Kevin, it was a siren song. It promised thrills and exhilaration to fulfill his deepest rush desires. He found himself inexorably drawn to the lure of that hypnotic sound, guiding the group in the direction of the imposing skyscraper-sized building with the words 'The Hollywood Tower Hotel' displayed prominently- high on its statuesque facade.

To the older blonde, on the on the other hand, this sound was absolutely atrocious! She couldn't fathom what could possibly be causing people to emit that horrid sound! Wasn't this an amusement park? Upon realizing what she was hearing was getting noticeably more pronounced the closer their group moved toward what seemed to be the tallest building in this whole resort, being led there by her son, a very uneasy feeling settled deep in the pit of her stomach. She grasped her husband's hand tightly and tried to keep the anxiety in her voice in check, regarding her child cautiously, endearingly. "Ben, Sweetheart, where are you taking us?"

As if realizing there were nine other people who were following for the first time, the brunette snapped his head around slightly shocked at hearing the voice of the woman who'd birthed him. He quickly overcame his disorientation, sending a beaming, excited, adoring smile her way. "Oh, you're going to love this, Mom! It's my very favorite ride here! It's totally awesome!"

He turned quickly in the direction of the little Japanese American who was inclining her head almost painfully to look at the very top of the looming building. So awed was she by the sheer height of the structure that a surprised squeak inevitably escaped her when her boyfriend abruptly grabbed her hand, nearly dislocating her shoulder in the process. He began running the winding maze of ropes that should have indicated the line to enter the building, the helplessly giggling ebony struggling to keep up as he called back. "Ah, yeah! We got here so early, there's like, no waiting time! We get to ride right away!" This was then accentuated by a very audible, distinctly un-masculine- squeal of delight.

Kevin instantly cringed at that sound, bringing his hand up to shield his face from any passersby in mortification as the group followed. He turned to his redhead, huffing out in an irritated voice, "Your cousin's such a moron! You don't figure we can pretend we're not in the same group, do you?"

They heard a sarcastic scoff from the general direction of the Japanese man in their entourage, before he deadpanned. "If only..."

Natalie failed to fully, muffle an escaping chortle behind her hand in response, earning her a disapproving glare from both her in-laws and her husband.

The Anodyte just rolled her eyes at all the adults behind her (it was as if she was stuck babysitting three-year-olds, here) settling them on her boyfriend heatedly. "Seriously, Kevin! Don't fuel their flame!"

The Osmosian shrugged, throwing an arm over her shoulders as he attempted to grace her with an attritional smile. However, this was Kevin and his next statement murdered his feigned attempt at remorse. "What? He's stupid! I don't want to be associated with 'im!"

She instantly struggled against him, pulling away, a scandalized expression morphing her delicate features into outrage. However, far quicker than she could react, he preempted her attempt at escape, bringing his other arm up to wrap around her shoulders tightly as she wriggled in his grasp. He snickered sadistically into her ear. "You may as well give up, Gwen. You don't have the leverage to break this hold without using manna."

The Anodyte calmed, choosing a different defense against her larger opponent... intimidation. "I don't have to break it, Kevin. I could just use your weight against you and flip you right over my head, landing you flat on your butt on top of that..." She looked ahead briefly at what was just in front of them in the large room, her eyes narrowing in confusion. It appeared to be a registration stand. "What is that, exactly?"

Then, her eyes panned out to regard the odd locale more fully, her expression only growing even further perplexed. They were in a large square room with columns and high ceilings. Antique portraits lined the walls and the furniture looked ancient. It all seemed so upscale and posh. However, everything appeared consumed by cobwebs and dust. She hadn't been watching where she was going once Kevin started bad-mouthing her cousin. "Where are we?"

"You're in the lobby of the great 'Hollywood Tower Hotel'," Ben changed his inflection as he said the name, deepening his baritone to make it sound creepier. Then, he went back to his normal speaking voice to continue, sarcastically, "Could you people walk any slower? We've literally been waiting here forever! Oh, and by the way, Kevin- I heard what you said about me. Bite me! It's not as if _I_ brag about having a psychotic ex-con for a best friend, you know?" The wielder of the Ultimatrix huffed out in aggravation, shifting his weight form foot to foot impatiently while holding his smiling girlfriend around the waist.

Both the Osmosian and his redhead's eyes shot wide with scandalized shock at what the younger male teen had just inadvertently let slip in front of their older companions. Wow! Ben really _was_ a moron! Before they could turn to do some crowd control, however, they heard the Japanese woman behind them ask curiously, innocently. "Ex-con? I thought you were some kind of police officer, Kevin?"

The older teen narrowed his blazing dark eyes into a sneer that screamed '_I'm emasculating you the first chance that I get for making me have to deal with **this**!_' in the direction of his best friend before schooling his features into an unreadable mask, turning around to regard the older Asian woman. "I _am_ a law enforcer, Mrs. Yamamoto. However, my younger years were… colorful."

Natalie narrowed her eyes critically at her daughter's boyfriend, not bothering to keep the distaste out of her voice. "How _colorful_ could it have been for my nephew to refer to you as an ex convict, Kevin?"

The dark teen's eyes focused on her, challenging affront clear in their depths. This witch had no idea who she was messing with…

Thankfully, before he could tell her where to shove her inquisition, Julie's father spoke up. "You're eighteen, right Kevin?" He turned towards Frank to continue. "Tell me if I'm incorrect, Mr. Tennyson. Obviously, an attorney would know more about this than I. But, aren't juvenile records sealed once the individual becomes of legal age?"

The Anodyte's father couldn't help but send him a knowing smile as he replied simply. "Yup."

Turning back to regard the gratefully smirking teen, Mr. Yamamoto finished. "In that case, I see absolutely no reason why this young man needs to speak of his past unless he absolutely wishes to, Mrs. Tennyson."

The older ginger just rolled her eyes in frustration at the man, crossing her arms and huffing out indignantly, "Easy for _you_ to say! It's not _your_ daughter with the unhealthy obsession with the delinquent!"

"Yeah, guys! This conversation can be held as we walk to the actual ride!" The Savior of the Universe had long since exhausted what pitifully small reserve of sufferance was at his diposal and didn't bother waiting for a response. He grabbed his girlfriend's hand again, turning to continue toward what looked like an elevator with a pedophile in a bellhop uniform standing in front, ushering people inside (Not kidding. These are the creepiest looking dudes ever!). He didn't move fast enough, however, to miss the retort Julie's father scoffed out at his aunt.

"Believe me, madam! I would_ not_ take issue with that. Beats what she's obsessed with now!"

Carl, Sandra, Ben and even Julie sent withering, insulted glares at the man, before moving through the door.

Once inside the 'elevator', they joined about two dozen other people and the doors closed. Sandra looked around briefly, noting how dilapidated everything in this room was made out to look. That uneasy feeling started up in her stomach again, as she remembered the screaming from before. She turned worried eyes to her son. "So, this is like a haunted house or something, Sweetheart?"

The brunette turned confused eyes at her. Why would she get_ that_ idea? "No." Was his unhelpful reply.

The blonde was just about to press him for more information, when the lights went out abruptly in the room and someone shrieked. Everyone in that woman's group laughed at her as a TV screen blinked to life on one of the walls and the opening theme to The Twilight Zone® started playing. This was followed by an explanation that five people had entered a service elevator in this hotel many years ago. It had been hit by lightning and they were never seen again.

The Osmosian smirked into the kiss he'd stolen from his girlfriend, taking advantage of the sudden darkness. He rumbled mirthfully against her lips. "That's supposed to scare us? That happens to us every other Tuesday!" Then, he deepened the kiss for a second longer, before he knew the doors would open and they'd have to separate.

Upon the doors opening, they entered what looked like a humongous basement, complete with boilers. Since there were no lines, the entire group moved forward quickly and soon was facing yet another antique elevator. The ushers in front of these were just normal folk, who separated the groups into rows and asked everyone to stand on about ten circles on the floor.

When the doors to these last elevators opened, Ben, Kevin, Gwen, Julie and all their parents proceeded inside, finding an upper and lower row of seats. They all sat, buckling their safety belts tightly and the door closed.

Then, there was darkness once more as the theme to The Twilight Zone® started up again and the voice of the same host from before could be heard announcing that they were entering an episode of the show. The elevator started moving upward.

Of course, at this point, Sandra was beyond confused and tapped the shoulder of her son to once again, gain his attention. "I thought you said this wasn't a scary ride, Ben."

The wielder of the Ultimatrix turned a completely sincere look at her. "It's not, Mom."

Next, the front of the ride swooshed open to reveal a darkened hallway with flickering lights. The white specters of five people appeared ahead, beckoning them forward.

All right, the blonde had to speak up again. "Ben, how's this not scary?"

The younger teen turned to quirk a disbelieving eyebrow up at her. "You seriously find this scary, Mom? This isn't scary! This is cheesy! Try dealing with Ghostfreak for half an hour. _That's_ scary!"

The boy's mother had to acquiesce there. Some of what he turned into was certainly far more frightening than this. That knowledge didn't settle her growing anxiety, however.

As the ride progressed, the specters disappeared and the front of the ride closed into a starscape, the story about the riders disappearing in the elevator playing overhead. Then, it dropped open again to show the inside of a service elevator bathed in eerie green light. Lighting began flashing everywhere.

Finally, the elevator stopped moving and the most terrifying thing the wielder of the Ultimatrix's mother could have imagined, occurred.

The entire room they were all sitting in just plummeted.

The speed at which they were falling was so, that Frank could actually see his sunglasses lift out of his lap and hover suspended in midair before his eyes.

The fact that the front of the ride was now open once more to the outside and they could see the entire Hollywood Studios park flashing past them, helped in gauging their astronomical decent as well.

They all screamed. This was a perfectly normal reaction to this particular thrill ride.

However, neither the impressively diversified string of obscenities nor the horrified pitch Sandra Tennyson delivered them at would be considered '_normal_' by anyone. The tirade did not pause for a moment, actually seeming to intensify each of the three other times the lift quickly ascended and abruptly descended again.

Once the ride ended and the doors opened, it took fifteen minutes, every single person in her group and two ushers to pry Sandra's deathly white hands off the safety bar in order to get her off.

As the trembling, traumatized woman walked out of the cursed building, assisted by her husband, her son turned to her excitedly as if he'd just remembered something important. "Oh yeah, Mom! Didn't you once tell me you're deathly terrified of heights? That must have been awful for you, huh?"

The blonde was eternally grateful to her son's best friend, who saved her from reconsidering her life-long stance on corporal punishment toward him…

By smacking him so hard on the back of the head that he fell forwards on all fours.

_FIN!_

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><p><strong>AN: I know, I know… too long and wordy, but I really wanted to describe this ride. It's my favorite!**

**Some of you may know this already and some of you may not... I'm ill (Well... beyond the all-so-noticeable psychological problems my fics so poignantly manifest!XD). I have to go in for surgery soon so I don't know how often I'll be able to update this in the future. I've updated weekly religiously since January 21, 2012 so I feel awful about this. I apologize to all my loyal readers and reviewers. I'll try to post whatever and whenever I can...**

**Please review!**


	11. Saludos desde Epcot

**Okay! So who's in the mood for some fluff?... And some serious drama!XD**

**This one is for all my Latinos in the fandom! I want all of you to represent on this one gente!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

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><p>After the 'incident' in The Crystal Palace, the Osmosian was more than a little wary of following his Floridian so-called friend's advice about the restaurants in this resort.<p>

However, the San Angel Inn at Epcot's Mexico Pavilion in the World Showcase had been at the very top of the woman's list of recommendations and she'd said it was the most romantic eatery within Epcot- maybe even in the whole resort. This had stoked the dark teen's curiosity.

After walking the whole day, the older couples decided to go ahead of the teenagers into the restaurant in order to reserve the tables for them, since this was an a la carte, casual dining eatery and advanced reservations were not an option. This arrangement was perfectly agreeable to the teens, who were all itching to ride The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros.

The entrance to this ride was at the very entrance to the towering pyramid modeled after an actual Aztec Pyramid at Teotihuacan, which also housed the restaurant. It was described to the oldest teenager as pretty much a 'kiddie ride' by his connection here. It was meant for all ages (in other words, it's slow) and starred the characters from the 1944 Disney film, _The Three Caballeros_: Donald Duck; Panchito, the Mexican rooster and José Carioca, a Brazilian parrot. It was just a musical, animated ride to fascinate the minds of very young children.

This ride certainly should **not** have fancied anyone in their late teens. As a matter of fact, the only reason Ben, Julie, Gwen and Kevin were so eager to go on the very slow boat ride, was the fact that the Osmosian's friend had told him- it was very, very dark.

The teens had been under the constant deprecating scrutiny of their mutually disparaging, arguing parents since arriving. They desperately **needed** five minutes of nice dark couple's alone time!

For this reason, when the usher at the front of the line asked if all four wished to share the first small boat to empty before them, he received a very resolute and resounding chorused 'NO' as a response. The brunette quickly jumping into it while pulling his girlfriend along so suddenly that she lost her footing and fell unceremoniously right into his lap.

The ebony was just regaining her bearings and the leverage to get off him, when she noticed the suggestive smirk he was regarding her with; he quirked one eyebrow up smugly. "Well aren't _you_ eager!"

The shade of crimson that instantly tinted the girl's face as the blood rushed to it was impressive, to say the least. Amazingly, however, it actually managed to deepen once the usher cleared his throat, crossing his arms and sending the couple a reproaching look. "I'm sorry, but the young lady can **not** ride on your lap, sir! This ride is for all ages!"

Julie instantly catapulted herself out of her boyfriend's lap, sitting ramrod straight beside him and interlacing her fingers on her lap. She pointedly avoided turning her mortified face to regard the usher as she eeked out sheepishly, "I'm so sorry, sir!"

She brought her hand up to rub the bridge of her nose in embarrassment, once the boat began moving. She could kill both Ben and Kevin for continuing to laugh at this. She could hear them both snickering clearly. She shut her eyes tight in a failed attempt to block them out. This wasn't funny!

Her abashed moping was quickly interrupted, when a strong arm wrapped around her waist unannounced, simultaneously crushing her to the body of the boy beside her and lifting her once more onto his lap. She squeaked in surprise at the sudden change in position, locking outraged almond eyes with the deviously smirking emerald-eyed teen. She was a split second from voicing her arraignment at him about his lack of respect for the little ones on the ride (as the usher had so poignantly pointed out) when his mouth crushing rather violently and greedily against hers muffled her complaint.

She'd craved this so bad for quite a few days at this point. Therefore, it took every ounce of will in her being to work her delicate fingers up the abdomen of the boy who was presently entertaining himself with trying to pin down her tongue with his (Wow! Ben had a lot of definition on his stomach!) in an attempt to reach his chest. Once her hands reached their destination, she pushed off against him hesitantly, breaking the ever-desired kiss.

Undeterred, ignorant of her reason for pulling out of their kiss (and not particularly caring for an explanation on the matter right now either way), the brunette instantly tightened his grip on her waist to bring her flush to him once more. He made a second advance at recapturing her mouth, but the ebony turned her face away too quickly, denying him access to her face altogether. He quirked an eyebrow up in irritation fleetingly, before a sinister grin parted his features. So, she wanted to play?

Julie couldn't believe how difficult Ben was making it to communicate with him. It was hard enough for her to focus on what she was trying to say without him constantly trying to kiss her! She'd finally gotten her thoughts straight enough to communicate coherently, once she turned away from him to look at the ridiculous little show going on around them, when her mind went blank again. Her eyes rolled back inadvertently at the unbelievable sensation the tenacious young man holding her sent through her entire body as he bit down on her earlobe.

She tried again to refocus as he moved down her neck from her ear, peppering wet little kisses everywhere. He was making this so hard! She found her voice again, though the quality was shaky, needy and gasping as it emerged from her throat. She really hated this guy! "Ben... Ben! I'm not supposed to be sitting on you in here! The little kids behind us can see us! Remember what the man at the beginning of the ride said!"

"Yeah, mister! You're violating our innocent little eyes back here! Our precious child-like innocence is gone! GONE! My eyes! They burn!"

The wielder of the Ultimatrix couldn't help burst into laughter, turning to regard the occupants of the boat behind theirs. How Kevin got his voice to sound like he was eight when his natural baritone was so deep, he'd never know!

He turned back to direct his retort at his giggling girlfriend, who was looking over the seat at their friends as well. He pointed a thumb back in the direction of the older teenager, mockingly. "Yeah. No. _That_ is neither innocent nor a child, unless were talking maturity or intelligence wise."

"Whatever, Pato! The pot can call the kettle black all it wants! It don't make it any lighter!"

"Kevin! Seriously! Calling him that is so not cool!" The brunette turned confused emerald eyes back to see his best friend rubbing his rib cage as he laughed unabashedly at the condemning look his cousin was burning into him. She had obviously just elbowed him. The younger male teen chose to direct his inquiry at the redhead, whom he knew possessed the superior intellect to supply the knowledge he required. "I know I barely passed Spanish, but didn't he just call me a duck?"

When the Osmosian's laughter intensified to the point that he now infected both his cousin and his own girlfriend with a fit of snickering, Ben's eyebrows further knit together in profound befuddlement. He turned to the little Asian American on his lap for some answers. Obviously, she was in on whatever obscure little joke they were all laughing at. "You wanna help me out, here?"

The ebony stifled her giggles by biting down on her lower lip shortly before placing a sweet kiss to the boy's nose. He was simply adorable with that confused frown on his face. "In Mexico, calling a man 'duck' doesn't mean you're calling him the actual animal, Ben. It basically means you're calling him a-" She brought her hands up to cup his ear and whisper the end to her explanation.

The Savior of the Universe instantly turned blazing emerald eyes at his so-called best friend. "Oh really, Levin! Well the only fa- humph..."

Good thing Julie had excellent reaction time and was able to muffle that last part with her mouth. The indignant young man's voice had attained a decibel that she was fairly certain could be heard by the people at either end of the tunnel they were in. It wouldn't serve his reputation in the public eye if anyone heard him screaming _that_!

The moment their mouths melded again, Ben forgot why he wanted to tell the offending older teen off, preferring to wrap the beautiful little ebony tighter in his arms and deepen the kiss. The psycho wasn't worth giving this up for, anyway.

Gwen snickered as she watched her friend effectively derail her cousin out of his rant. Ben was amazingly easily distracted, she noted inwardly before turning to face her own boyfriend, whose arm was surreptitiously encircling her waist. She snuggled closer to him, bringing her own arms up to wrap around his neck, playing with the longish strands of raven hair there.

He smiled affectionately down at her, bringing their faces close enough that he could touch noses with her, their lips ghosting softly against each other in a sweet, teasing prelude to an actual kiss. She nipped ever so softly at his bottom lip, continuing to stare into the infinite onyx of his eyes before quirking up an inquisitive eyebrow. She breathed her inquiry against his mouth. "Aren't you going to pull me into your lap, too?"

His smile lopped sideways into an amused smirk. He placed a light soft kiss to the area right between her nose and upper lip, responding just as softly. "I don't think that's such a hot idea in here. I have a bad feeling what those two," his eyes flitted briefly in the direction of the boat ahead, "are doing is going to come back to haunt them..."

The ginger's eyebrows knit together in mock annoyance. "Why do I have to be the one stuck with the schizophrenic, paranoid, lunatic?"

The dark teen's smile turned unabashedly flattered and devious as he tightened his grip on her until neither could tell which of the heartbeats they felt in their conjoined chests was whose. He purred his retort directly against her lips. It held both enticing threat and enthralling promise. "Sticks and stones, Gwendolyn... sticks and stones..." Then, all teasing and prelude ended, as he crushed his mouth to hers with the hunger days of not having the slightest contact evoked.

The Anodyte let her mind and emotion flow freely into the kiss, allowing the pent up stress of dealing with her mother on this trip just melt away. All there was in the universe anymore was her and this amazing boy, who was pouring as much of himself into this simple gesture as humanly possible. She could feel it. It was almost as if she heard him making a mantra out of her name within her soul, telling her he loved her. He wasn't vocal about this. She doubted he'd ever _say_ the words out loud unless it was sarcastically or mockingly. However, every time he held her like this and kissed her... she knew. He screamed it into her soul.

Kevin tried to focus completely on the beautiful young woman in his arms but he couldn't. He had an amazing eye for detail and he could have sworn he saw something about this ride when they first walked in the building that had him on edge- something he should be on the look-out for. Consequently, he opened his tightly closed eyes but a flicker of a moment about two minutes into he and Gwen's kiss. Said eyes instantly snapped wide with panic and in the direction of the boat ahead of them as he frantically pulled out of the kiss, calling out, "Tennyson! Watch out!"

Noticing the brunette continued as oblivious as ever to his impending peril (and far too distracted in his current endeavor to pay the older teen any mind), Kevin quickly moved away from his very confused girlfriend towards the edge of the boat they occupied. Dipping his cupped hand in the tepid water, he wrenched it forward in the direction of the two kissing teenagers before him, effectively soaking them.

Two distinctly feminine squeals resounded from the lead boat, before the wielder of the Ultimatrix turned furiously deranged eyes on the affronting Osmosian behind him. His baritone was icy, threatening, venom. "That's it, Psychopath! I'm going Rath and wiping the floor with your a-"

"Hello, Daddy! Hi, Mom!" Julie's purposefully overly loud and cheerful greeting cut into her boyfriends tirade at just the perfect time.

The brunette turned back to send her a questioning glare, his eyes instead darting up to land in horrification on an open platform that apparently led to the restaurant beyond. All the adults in their group leaned against the veranda, looking down on them.

_Oh, God_!

"Smile, Sweetie!" Ben barely registered his mother's request as the flash indicating she'd snapped the picture went off. However, he was completely certain, whatever expression that photograph captured- it was decidedly **not** a smile!

"Tennyson... Why is my daughter in your lap?"

All the youngest male teen could muster as a response was a muted, flustered opening and closing of his mouth as he withheld the recriminating, furious glare burning into his retinas courtesy of the Japanese man. The raucous laughter booming from the Osmosian in the boat behind his in this tortuously slow, roughly one minute long, traversal through the inside of the eatery, wasn't exactly working any wonders for his concentration, either.

Once it became painfully obvious her boyfriend was not going to be able to offer an even slightly cogent response, the little Japanese American came to the poor boy's rescue. She replied in the most casual, nonchalant manner she could muster, "My side of the boat was wet when it arrived, so I sat on Ben to keep from getting my shorts soaked, Dad."

She cringed at the painful sounding thud that came from beside her. From the corner of her eye she realized her boyfriend had let his head fall back against the hard plastic of the seat so hard, she was surprised he was still conscious. He was rubbing the hand that wasn't wrapped around her roughly up and down his face in frustration. She felt somewhat insulted. It wasn't as if _he_ came up with anything better!

"Ah God, Julie! I really love you, you know that?" The oldest teen gasped out between bouts of laughter. He was literally doubled over at the pain his humor was causing him, now. His girlfriend was trying to send him a chastising look but it failed miserably due to her own hysterics.

The Asian girl's father sent the Osmosian a quick amused look before rolling his eyes back to land on his own daughter. "Then, why are you still wet, Julie?"

The girl perked up at having the perfect answer for that. "Because Kevin's an immature jerk and he thought it was funny to splash us with the funky water in this ride." She punctuated her false accusation by pointing behind her with her thumb.

Mr. Yamamoto regarded the oldest young man again with narrowed eyes. "Is that true, Levin?"

The Osmosian's answer was automatic and he never stopped snickering. "Oh, for sure! I find this whole situation absolutely hilarious!"

The ambiguity in the response was not lost on anyone. Yamamoto merely rolled his eyes again, turning and walking away to sit back at their table. He shot one last reply over his shoulder to his daughter's boat as it entered the tunnel once more. "Whatever. We'll talk when you get off that ride, Tennyson!"

Ben only moaned in response.

The little ebony turned back to send a sympathetic smile at the boy, who still applied a painful amount of pressure with his thumb and index finger to his tightly shut eyes. She leaned down to place a soft kiss to his cheek, cooing gently, "At least, _I_ still like you, Ben. You don't need Daddy to like you..."

The brunette lowered his hand away from his face in order to quirk an appreciative eyebrow at her, deadpanning mirthlessly, "That's good to know, because I don't think if I were on fire, the man would dignify himself to spit on me for fear of putting out the flames!" The little Japanese American giggled, laying her head on the crook of his neck as he shot his head back to vociferate, obviously regarding the older teen behind them. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for the whole half a second of warning there, Kev!"

The Osmosian scoffed out indignantly, "Don't blame _me_ for that, Stupid! You're lucky you got even that! I've never been on this before and I wasn't exactly paying attention either back here. Who told you to sit her on your lap, anyway?"

The wielder of the Omnitrix just wrapped his arms tighter around his girlfriend, huffing out petulantly- a pout clear in his voice, "Whatever, Dude!"

Then, after another second of moping, added with actual sincerity in a much lower grumble, "Thanks for having my back..."

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><p>There was a tangible tension as the two teenage couples approached the table the adults in their group presently occupied within the San Angel Inn. However, just as Yamamoto, who had his arms crossed across his chest, regarding the youngest male teen with murderous intent opened his mouth to voice whatever nasty diatribe he'd planned to inflict upon the poor boy- his cousin slammed a hand down forcefully on the table, effectively squelching the man's comment and detracting every surprised eye to her.<p>

She lifted an accusatory index finger, pointing it in a circle at every sitting adult at the table. She didn't raise her voice, but there was an unmistakable edge of danger to it. "Okay. We were all kissing on the ride. We're young. We're couples. We have strong feelings for each other. We have also behaved perfectly civil this whole trip while all of you bickered, criticized and all-out insulted us. We needed to get away for ten minutes! And we do **not** feel sorry about it! You were all young once and I'm certain did far worse than kissing on a joyride!"

Her eyes darted pointedly toward her father. "I know for sure _you_ did, Dad! You were in a fraternity in college that you **never** talk about! So, we really don't need to hear what you guys have to say about what just transpired. Let's pretend it never happened and just sit down to a nice peaceful dinner... Okay?"

Her fiery emerald eyes roamed over each face to make sure they were all nodding, noting most of them showed some level of fear at her little outburst. Then, she smiled congenially at all of them. "Thanks! I'm starving! Where's the waiter?" she perkily commented as she sat herself at the adjoining smaller table, lifting the menu to look it over.

The other three teens exchanged a bewildered look first with each other, then the adults, before shrugging and sitting down to join her.

Kevin, of course, was unable to help himself. "So, Mr. Tennyson... You were in a fraternity?" He didn't try to veil the mirth in his tenor whatsoever.

The addressee didn't even bother looking up from perusing his menu as he responded, flatly. "So, Kevin... You've been in prison?"

The Osmosian cringed, rasping out a pained. "Touché.

His girlfriend smiled sympathetically at him, placing a hand on the arm he splayed on the table. "He doesn't tell anyone about that, Kev. Ken even got in the same fraternity as a legacy and has been forced into some sort of secrecy pact..."

The Osmosian's eyebrow quirked up in curiosity at that, he couldn't get any details on the subject out of the older man, but he was certain he'd be able to cajole it out of his eldest child. It would just take some time... and a few bottles of good scotch...

His devious introspection was thwarted by the arrival of two dark-haired waitresses beside their and the adults' tables. One looked to be in her early twenties and the other in her late twenties. They quickly introduced themselves in amazingly good English (considering their name tags indicated they were from two different cities in Mexico). "Buenas noches! I am Luz," said the oldest, then pointed at the youngest, continuing, "and this is Iliana. We will be taking care of your dining needs this evening. We will start with drink orders."

The younger of the two now moved closer to the table where the older folk sat, pulling out her tablet. "Wuat wil yu laic tu drinc?" Her English was nowhere near as good as the oldest waitress'.

Frank regarded both young women with a kind expression. "I'm sorry. I believe there has been some kind of misunderstanding. We" he gestured with his hands at both tables "are a single group. There will only be one tab. Which I'll be taking care of, Kevin." He said this raising his voice while sending a pointed look at the dark teen. "Therefore, we only need one waitress."

The youngest looked back questioningly at her counterpart, who simply smiled back hospitably. "There is no need, Señor. The staff of the San Angel Inn is happy to serve your group on the house, free of charge and my manager has asked both Iliana and I to see to your every request. He says it is the least he can do for a hero such as Ben 10." She turned to regard the rather confused youngest teen. "You saved his village from some kind of attack a few months ago, Mr. Tennyson. The news cameras captured the whole thing. All of Mexico knows who you are. We are very big fans, here. All we ask is that you would take the time to sign some autographs and maybe take a few pictures with the staff..." She gestured with her head in the direction of the kitchen as she finished her statement.

The eyes of everyone in Ben's group followed the movement to find what looked like a dozen cooks, bus boys, servers and the aforementioned manager, standing at the entryway. They were all shoving and vying excitedly for a glimpse at the green-eyed boy.

All eyes turned back to the Savior of the Universe, who sported an obscene self-worshiping grin. He waved at his sycophantically fawning fans, addressing his companions. He could feel their glares boring into him. "You all can hate all you want. I don't care what any of you thinks. _That_ is totally awesome!"

The younger waitress giggled at him briefly, before turning back to her assigned table. "Bueno... wat wud yu laik tu drinc?"

Sandra instantly spoke up, bubbling with the effervescence of the proud mother she was at the moment. "Well, since this is Mexico and we should celebrate... How's a round of Margaritas sound to everyone?"

There were 'Here, Here's' from the Yamamotos, her husband and her brother-in-law in response. Her sister-in-law pursed her lips and regarded her husband with concern in her blue eyes. "Remember what the doctor said about alcohol and your blood pressure, Frank."

Her husband turned to face her with a tired smile. "I hardly ever drink, Lily. This is sort of a special occasion..." When her brows knit together in an almost hurt look, he sighed and turned to the waitress. "Make one of the Margaritas very light on the alcohol."

The older ginger immediately perked up, wrapping her arms around her husband's and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you." He grinned back at her.

Although, everyone at his own table was busy listing away their own drink orders to the older waitress, the Osmosian didn't miss the little exchange between his redhead's parents. He regarded the older man with a pitying look, before regarding the server. "I'd like a bottle of Tequila and three shot glasses, please."

Everyone at both tables went deathly silent. Luz, the waitress, quirked an intrigued eyebrow at the dark teen and smiled replying, "Not a problem, Señor. But, I do need to see your I.D. to serve you alcohol. Florida law requires we check anyone who looks younger than twenty-five."

"This isn't funny, Kevin. What are you doing?"

The Osmosian ignored Frank, continuing to grin up at the waitress as he pulled out his wallet and handed her his license. The server took it, surveyed both the picture and his face briefly, wrote something off the document down on her tablet and handed it back. Then, she regarded the group as a whole. "Very well, the soft drinks and Tequila will be out right away. The Margaritas will take a little longer, because they have to be mixed. We will return shortly." Then, the two servers commenced their retreat back to the kitchen quickly.

"You are **not** seriously bringing that teenager a bottle of Tequila, are you?"

The oldest waitress looked nonplussed at the rather rude redheaded woman at her comrade's assigned table, then down at her pad. Realizing she had not overlooked anything, she regarded her again flatly. "Florida law only requires us to check the identification, Señora. And we are trained to identify fakes." She gestured back at the teenager briefly. "If he is not the age he says, then he has a forgery beyond our ability to detect, which is very unlikely, and we have no legal right to deny him services." With that she turned, heading for the kitchen.

"Well, I'll never! At least the ones who keep our lawn know their place!" The older ginger whispered into her husband's ear. The man immediately rounded on her with an outraged hiss, "Natalie! Honestly! Keep it to yourself!"

The Anodyte didn't bring her hand down from where it had shot up to rub the bridge of her nose the second her boyfriend's drink order had left his mouth as she grunted out, "Kevin, did you just flash a fake I.D. in front of my parents to get booze?"

Though she couldn't see it, the Osmosian graced her with a mock insulted grin. "You think so little of me, Gwen. If you must know, this happens to be my actual license." He waved the little plastic card in front of her tauntingly.

She snatched it out of his hands, throwing him a nasty look before glaring down at the document. She immediately looked back up at him incensed. "You are **not **twenty-three years old, Kevin Ethan Levin!"

His smile only grew ever more devious as his amusement escalated at her ire. "That isn't what that chick at the D.M.V. wrote on it when I first got it at fifteen... now is it, Gwen? Then again, she was a little dazed after I took her out to 'lunch'. She would have written pretty much anything I'd asked her to..."

The ginger grimaced in disgusted outrage. "You are such a slut!"

The raven-haired teenager started outright snickering as he analyzed the fuming ginger. He loved the way the blood rushed up her delicate neck to pool in her naturally pallid cheeks, the way her eyes darkened just a shade or two, seeming to burn with green fire as the passion of her anger won over her almost ever-present discipline and restraint. She absolutely glowed in the throws of her rage. It was awe-inspiring. It made him wish he'd done this to her back in the tunnel. That would have been amazing! Alas, lost opportunity, he guessed...

He finally decided not to press his luck with her patience any longer. He placed both elbows on the table, clasping his hands together and reclining his chin on the conjoined knuckles as he locked eyes with his sneering girlfriend. He kept that heart-wrenchingly debonair smirk as he spoke. "Slut, huh? I don't think anyone has ever called me that before. I've certainly been referred to by variations of it..."

Gwen just let out an outraged huff of air, rolling her eyes in exasperation, before landing them once again on the infuriating teenager. Did he seriously take that as a compliment?

The Osmosian noted this reaction and his smirk grew as he ended his statement with nothing but sincerity in his tenor. "Then, I guess you actually lowering your standards to give a slut like me a chance, has made me a better person all around, huh Gwen?"

The Anodyte was at a complete loss for words. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her! She was literally on the verge of tears as she beheld aghast the gaze of the boy adjoining her at the table.

"Wow! He is really, really good! I can see why she likes him. That get anyone else flustered?"

"Mom!" The wielder of the Omnitrix turned horrified eyes on the blonde.

"I'm with you, Sandra." The Japanese woman spoke up, turning to the oldest teenager. "That silver tongue of yours is going to get you out of anything with her, Kevin. Mark my words..."

"Yes! He's a perfectly charming, debonair psychopath who could just as easily embrace her lovingly as try to kill her if he looses control... every mother's dream for her only daughter!" Natalie huffed out sarcastically, shoving away from the table violently and getting up. She cast accusing glares at the two females at her table, adding. "I'm going to clean up before dinner. We've been walking around this park for hours and between the dust and the sweat, my hands are filthy. Anyone, want to join me?" She didn't wait for a response as she stalked off in the direction of the restrooms.

Both the older women got up to follow, Julie's mother nudging her on the shoulder to join her. The ebony got up and went with her.

This left only the Anodyte who continued staring at her Osmosian, whose eyes had become hard as steel at her mother's cruel words. She rubbed comforting patterns into his arm as she spoke softly. "You won't ever hurt me, Kev. Even if you ever lost control again, we'll bring you back. I swear it."

His eyes softened as he sent her a grateful smile. "You should go wash up, too. I'll be fine."

She hesitantly got up, placing a quick kiss to his forehead and turned to leave. Then, she thought of something and turned back to regard all the men, her eyes narrowing. "Aren't you guys going to go clean up too?"

The consensus of all the males came in her boyfriend's intriguingly humorous reply. "Nah! Guys are gross! You go ahead!"

She quirked a confused eyebrow at the teen before understanding illuminated her demeanor. "You're all staying here to drink behind their backs, aren't you? That's why no one put up much of a fight when Kevin asked for it." She then rolled her eyes and turned in the direction of the restrooms, shooting over her shoulder. "I'll stall them as long as I can!"

"That's my girl!" Both Frank and Kevin stared at each other with amusement at having chorused the exact same sentiment, until the younger man added, smiling sheepishly, "Well, technically, she's still yours, sir."

"I don't think that's been true for a while now, Kev. It's just a matter of you asking her. She's not my little girl anymore." The ginger's father leveled a sad smile at the boy.

Happily, Luz the waitress arrived carrying a tray with the soft drinks and the bottle of Tequila just at that moment. She handed Ben his strange concoction of mango, avocado and tomato, then placed the girls' sodas where they were sitting. Next, she placed the bottle and shot glasses before Kevin, gracing him with a knowing smile, before leaving once again to the kitchen.

Yamamoto sent a questioning look at the raven-haired teenager as he poured the three shots and started passing them around to the men. "Aren't we short one glass, Levin?"

"Nah. It would have raised the harpy's suspicion if I'd ordered enough glasses for all of us. Besides, the bottle is technically for me, anyway." As soon as he finished saying this, he brought the bottle to his lips and swigged down a quarter of the contents.

Looking on in amazement and not wanting to be out done by the young buck, the three older men all downed there shots in one gulp. All three gasped and hissed as the spirit ravaged its way down their gullets. Carl actually burst into a coughing fit, pounding his chest.

His son was immediately at his side, pounding on his back with concern warping his features. "Why would anybody willingly drink something that hurts?" The inquiry was directed at no one in particular.

"It actually gets easier the more you drink" Came his best friend's easy answer.

"Can I try some, Kev?"

"**NO**" was his resolute answer, chorused by every single male in his group.

He immediately rounded on his best friend, ignoring the others. "How can _you_ say no to me? You're actually drinking it! What harm can one shot do?"

The Osmosian rolled his eyes, taking another drink before responding to him in the kind of intonation you use when explaining something to a mentally deficient toddler. "Your scrawny, buck-and-a-half pound butt has absolutely no alcohol tolerance, Tennyson. I don't think anyone in your family is particularly good at holding their liquor, if your old man's reaction just now and what I've seen from Ken is any indication. So, believe me, one shot of this stuff and you'll likely be plastered. As funny as the video of that will be once I post it on YouTube, I'm willing to wait until you're twenty-one to get my footage, thank you."

The brunette just plopped back down on his seat, folding his arms, pouting. "I'm a hero and you guys don't let me do anything!"

"Oh, and_ there's_ another thing! Can you imagine the trouble I'd have if you decided to drunk dial the Omnitrix and I'd have to wrestle down a drunken Rath or Humungousaur... no thanks, kid! You don't get any of this!"

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><p>The rest of dinner passed rather normally for this particular group. They all ate in semi-companionable silence, then had fried ice cream for desert (Yeah, I know. Weird.)<p>

Then, at the end of the meal, their two waitresses came out to stand almost anxiously beside the table that held the younger generation. The youngest stepped forward hesitantly, regarding The Savior of the Universe without meeting his eyes. "Aim sori, Señor Tennyson. Bot wud yu plis sain yor pitchor for mai lidel sister bac in Mexico bifor yu teik pitchors wif da staf. She wud absolutli lov it."

Ben was back in his conceited blowhard persona instantly. He stood from his chair, taking the picture and pen from the shy young woman. He placed them on the table as he regarded her with an endearing smile. "Who should I make this out to, beautiful?"

Fully aware of what was to come; Julie brought her hands up on the table, interlacing her fingers, stoically. Breathing calmly, she focused her hazel, almond-shaped eyes on her hands. This was the hardest part of loving this particular young man.

The introverted young server giggled prettily at the flattering adjective he'd used instead of her name. "Mai sisters neim is Rebecca. An can yu rait con amor bifor yor sicnashur. Shi wil yust dai!"

The wielder of the Omnitrix winked up at her, his cocky smile widening. "Well if she's as pretty as you, I'll certainly be happy to, Iliana." He set to scribbling what she had asked.

Both Gwen and Kevin were sending commiserative looks at the little ebony by this point. The girl literally seemed to be digging her short nails into her hands as her eyes attempted to burn the skin right off of them.

Ben finished and handed the picture and pen back to the waitress, grabbing her hand before she could pull away. He continued to smile coquettishly. "No really, is your sister as pretty as you? 'Cause I'd love to meet her if she is..."

Sandra had been listening to her son flirt openly with this stranger in front of the girl she knew he felt deeply for and had tried to ignore the insurmountable impropriety of it for both their sakes. She didn't want to start a fight between them. However, when that last part exited her boy's lips, causing the little Japanese American to bring a hand up to her mouth to muffle a humiliated sob that they all still heard, she couldn't take it anymore. She darted out of her chair shouting reprimandingly at her son. "Benjamin!"

The brunette turned a blank expression to his mother as if remembering she was there suddenly. "Yeah, Mom?" Then he held up his finger in a halting gesture, "You know what, Mom... hold that thought. I have to go take pictures with the nice restaurant people to show our gratitude for everything they've done. Be right back." And with that, he wrapped an arm around the shoulders of both the waitresses and led them away in the direction of the kitchen.

The blonde's eyes were still as wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open, when she turned back from following where her son had gone to regard the little ebony he'd left sitting behind on the table. "For God's sake, Julie! I'm so sorry! Does he do this a lot? Since when is he like this?"

The almond eyed girl brought her hand down away from her mouth to reveal a bittersweet smile. She turned to face the mother of the guy she loved in spite of her better judgment. "He's been like that ever since his secret identity was blown and he started getting all the attention from the media. He hates it when the paparazzi swarm him, but he doesn't seem to have any problems with female fans. You saw how he reacted to your outburst, he had no idea you were still here. He cocoons himself in his own little sphere of praise, forgetting everyone else. He doesn't even notice he does it. When I yell at him about it, he just shrugs it off and tells me that he's still with me for a reason- that if he really cared about any of those girls he wouldn't stay with me. It's just a game of make-believe to him... harmless..."

"Well _that_ is the epitome of selfishness if ever I've heard it! Do you see why I don't like my daughter being with your son, Mrs. Tennyson. My child deserves better!"

Julie now turned on her father, anger beginning to resonate in her soft timber. "There's no one better than Ben, Dad! If he _is_ the epitome of selfishness then he is also the epitome of altruism. He willingly goes out and nearly gets himself killed week after week for total strangers, some of whom aren't even grateful! Sometimes, he goes more than twenty-four hours without sleep. He never has time for any of the things he likes to do for fun anymore. He barely has any time for_ me_. He's almost constantly injured. So, if he has an infuriating personality quirk that I don't like, I'm willing to look past it for the chance to be the only person he can turn to when he needs support, because so many others need to turn to_ him_!"

The Japanese man couldn't find a rebuttal to that. Especially, as he gazed at the proud way his daughter held her head up as she spoke of the young man she so obviously cared deeply for. He just huffed out a defeated sigh. "Fine, Julie. Keep dating the insensitive idiot if it makes you happy... but don't expect me to be nice to him."

The little ebony cocked her head sideways at him, sending him a genuinely amused, loving smile. "I wouldn't dream of it, Daddy!"

"Wow! You guys wouldn't believe how popular I am in this chick's country!"

All eyes focused on the now returning brunette, who was closely followed by the oldest waitress.

"Yes, Tennyson. We're all certain you're a god to them. Can we go now? I want to find a good spot for IlumiNations." The Osmosian quipped, pulling out the chair for his girlfriend as the adults began getting up and moving away from their seats.

"Aww! But, this place is so great! It's way better than some stupid light show!" The younger teen whined, instinctively reaching for his little ebony's hand and interlacing their fingers.

Julie hated the unbelievable comfort she felt at that seemingly insignificant gesture. She hated that he need her. She hated that she needed _him_. Most of all, she hated him for making her love him.

The four teens were the last to leave the dining area. Just as they were leaving, Luz the waitress came up to the oldest teen. She placed a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention, giving him a pointed look once his dark eyes were on her. She handed him a business card, nearly whispering these final words, "Para cuando te aburras de andar con niñitas y quieras saber lo que es realmente una mujer."

The Osmosian watched her walk away completely confused. Excepting a few curse words and insults, he didn't speak a lick of Spanish. He looked down at the business card and realized it had a phone number and address scribbled on the back. As the realization that the woman was actually coming on to him dawned, so struck another horrifying epiphany: Gwen understood Spanish.

He turned frantic eyes to the redhead, whose eyes were glowing magenta due to her rage. "No, she did **not** just do that right in front of me!"

Kevin had to literally, pick her up, throwing her over his shoulder while running for the exit to keep the enraged Anodyte from testing her theory that she could actually peel someone like a grape.

_FIN!_

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><p><strong>AN: Okay! I made this one obscenely long because I don't plan to update next week. We'll see if the finale inspires a one-shot or not, though. I'm not providing a translation for what the waitress said. If you don't know Spanish, use a translator program... you'll get a good laugh. Otherwise, leave a review asking what it says and I'll respond with the translation.**

**Okay! So the writers have given Ben an Omnitrix again! This is the most inconsistent show ever! I have fixed this chapter but there is no way I'm fixing the other ten, nor six of the seven other stories I've written. I refuse to bend to these writer's flights of fancy! Except for my use of the words Ultimatrix and Omnitrix, my stories are as cannon as you're going to find! God! I can't stand CN for continuously doing this!  
><strong>

**Please review!**


	12. Bibbidi Bobbidi Beautiful

**Hello Everyone! I'm back! I'm thinking I'll probably update every other week from now on. It's easier on me health-wise. I need to thank Everyone who has given me such excellent support and well-wishes. You readers give me the drive to continue this in spite of everything... Thank you all!**

**I need to give a very special shout-out to Sammyantha221 and SonoEcho who give me so much behind the scenes support. Also, you should all know that this installment is based off an idea from The Indian Princess. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

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><p>A morning of relaxing and doing nothing in the sun by the pool before the UV factor became so dangerous, she had to cover herself up… this was all the black bikini-clad seventeen-year-old ginger wanted.<p>

Of course, she wasn't going to get it. Neither was the equally annoyed Japanese American in the lounge chair beside her, who huffed out indignantly, once the spritz of pool water rained on both of them for the thousandth time in ten minutes.

Their maturity-equivalent, four and five-year-old boyfriends were apparently involved in some sort of mutual attempt to drown each other in the pool for something or another they had both done to each other at some impasse of this trip and indiscriminately splashed everything within a thirty foot radius of their scuffle.

Fortunately, it was mid week and early enough in the morning that the four teenagers and the brunette's parent's (who were pretending their son wasn't trying to commit murder in the pool as they drank their coffee and fiddled with their pads) were the only people at the pool, presently. Everyone else was at the parks already. Julie and Gwen's parents were having breakfast at their own respective hotels this morning. The girls had shuttled to the hotel the guys were staying at with Ben's parents early in the morning to have breakfast with them and hopefully relax at the pool, before hitting the next park with the rest of the group later on in the day.

Although the hotel thing had been a humongous debacle (as no one could agree on a single hotel they all wanted to stay at), the fact that they all stayed at different places, turned out to be quite beneficial for when they all needed their space. It also made Kevin (who was financing almost everything on this vacation) ecstatic that all the men were adamant about paying for their own accommodations, since they were picking them out themselves.

In the end, due to Natalie's conservative tastes, the Anodyte's family stayed at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Wishing for a resort that more closely emulated their culture, the Yamamotos stayed at Disney's Polynesian Resort.

Carl and Sandra really didn't care where they stayed, as long as Ben was happy and all the Savior of the Universe cared about was the size and coolness of the pool (once again, maturity stunted at the age of four). Therefore, they stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village, along with Kevin, in a two-bedroom villa.

Although, they were sharing the cost of the room equally, the Osmosian made it clear that the brunette's parents were to take the room with the king bed. He and the younger teen would just "rock, paper, scissor" each night to figure out who slept in the other bedroom with the queen bed and who slept on the queen sofa bed in the living room. Either way, it was really comfortable, but both teens were entirely too lazy to want to pull out the bed to sleep in it. Their only other option was sharing the bed in the only other room and there simply wasn't enough liquor in Epcot to get Kevin drunk to the point he'd actually agree to that.

Exasperated, the tiny ebony turned her narrowed dark hazel almond eyes from glaring at the oblivious battling boys in the water toward her friend conspiratorially. "I have an idea how we can get them back for screwing this up for us."

The redhead quirked an intrigued eyebrow at her, "Oh, I'm _so_ all ears!"

Julie giggled as she sat up and whispered her plan into the girl's ear. The sheer deviousness in the smile that split Gwen's beautiful features as she turned shocked eyes from her beguiling little friend to the two boys who probably meant more to her than anyone else on this planet, could have frozen one's blood in their veins. She casually rose from her lounge chair, accompanied by the ebony and bent over the side of the pool, whistling harshly to gain the wrestling infants' attention.

Once both an emerald and a semi-submerged, onyx pair of eyes were on her, the obscene smile only grew. "We dare you boys to a swimming race- boys against girls. Winner has to do whatever looser wants."

Upon hearing this absurd challenge, both boys started laughing, mockingly. They broke away from each other and began making their way up the stairs, towards their girlfriends. Ben was the first to speak, wiping a tear from his eye and directing himself at his tiny Japanese American. "I can turn into something with gills, Julie- actual freaking gills! Do you not remember Ripjaws? I would so cream you in a race!" As he said this in his obnoxiously superior tone, he actually had the nerve to attempt to wrap his arms around her waist.

Needless to say, he found his arms empty forthwith, his girlfriend arching a menacing eyebrow at him as she retorted. "The rules of the race are that you stay human or you forfeit and we win, Benjamin! Do you accept on those terms, or are you not man enough to do this without cheating?"

The wielder of the Omnitrix narrowed his eyes dangerously at the derisive little minx. He was torpid when it suited him, but he could tell full well when she was trying to goad him into doing something. Not to mention the fact that he found it undeniably enthralling when this heated, passionate side of hers surfaced. She wanted to play... he'd play... and he would decidedly win. Oh, the things he'd do to her for questioning his manhood once he won!

He shortened the distance between them until he was less then an inch from her face, never breaking the fierce lock his eyes held on her fierce glare. She had to incline her head to maintain the eye contact but it didn't matter to her. She wanted to keep her head held high at his obvious attempt at intimidating her. He snarled his consent against her lips. "You can't complain about what I'll make you do when you loose, you know."

Her response was to quickly, nip at his bottom lip teasingly, pulling away just as he tried to kiss her back. "You can't complain, either..." Then, she briskly, walked around him to position herself at the deepest end of the pool. He crossed his arms and followed in a frustrated sulk.

The Anodyte snickered at her cousin's retreating back, before turning expectant eyes up at her own boyfriend. "So, you game for the challenge, Kev?"

The raven-haired teen crossed one arm across his torso, using his hand to support the opposing elbow as he brought his other hand up to stroke his chin, analytically. He scrutinized his redhead before responding cautiously. "I know you're playing some kinda angle here, Gwen. I've done it too many times myself not to recognize a hustle when I see one." When her face fell in clear disappointment at being figured out, he huffed out defeated, letting both hands fall to his sides. "Okay, fine, but at least gimme something for walking into this little trap of yours willingly."

She didn't have to be asked twice. She instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, going on her tippy toes to plant a soft, grateful kiss to his lips. The moment she tried to pull away, however, she found herself crushed to a bare torso, the likes of which only Michelangelo himself could chisel and that quick kiss had turned into a neuron scorching exploration of her mouth.

"Hey, people! We doing this or not?"

Both her cousin's annoyed voice and the sound of her Asian friend's giggling, reconnected the neural pathways that kiss had severed enough for Gwen to realize her general orientation within the Universe again and she was able to form coherent enough thought to woozily, pull away from the dark teen in the direction of the deep end of the pool.

She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist from behind to steady her. "I hope you're not intricate to this little scheme you girls got going, 'cause I'm pretty sure that kiss back there just sabotaged you..."

Realization emblazoned across the ginger's face as she turned wide, recriminating eyes on the teenager who was holding her. The bastard just laughed unabashedly. "What can I say, Gwen? I've told you before, I'm not entirely trustworthy. Plus, you can swim circles around me when you're at your best... I wanna win..."

She wanted to shove him off and scream at him, but the truth was, her mind was still too addled from that mind-blowing kiss to register anything but the shock of his words as he placed a kiss to her temple and walked away to stand at the edge of the pool next to her cousin and Julie.

She was going to disembowel that bastard!

"Okay Julie, what are the rules, besides Stupid here not being able to go alien?" The Osmosian pointedly ignored the furious sneers he was blessed with, courtesy of anyone with Tennyson for a last name.

"Just, get to the other end and back as fast as you can. Whoever wins- male or female, wins for both of us. Sound fair?"

"Sounded a lot fairer before the jerk_ kissed_ me!"

"Now, now, Gwen... flattery won't get you to the other side and back. You should stop talking and breathe deeply. That way the blood can cycle fully back to your brain and you can focus on the task at hand."

"Oh, that's it! I'm throttling him!" The tiny ebony had to wrap both arms tightly around her friend's waist to stop her from jumping her boyfriend. She frantically started counting down. "Here we go! One... Two... Three!"

With that, all three dove in the water, making a mad dash for the other side. Ben and Julie quickly became the forerunners in the race. Kevin was simply too bulky for high-speed swimming and he'd done an impressively thorough job at mentally psyching Gwen out of the race. He truly_ was_ one twisted lunatic.

The Savior of the Universe tapped the edge and instantly volleyed back in the opposite direction. He didn't need the Omnitrix for this. He was an athlete. He was in peak physical condition. He was... his eyes widened to the size of saucers as his girlfriend quite literally jetted past him. He couldn't believe this! He was already swimming at top speed and straining his muscles to the point that he knew he'd be sore later. How was_ she_ swimming that fast?

Julie knew her boyfriend was an athlete in his own right. She knew fighting aliens weekly had tuned his body to amazingly peak condition (she'd run her hands up his stomach enough times to have absolutely no doubt in her mind of _that_). However, she also knew he underestimated her and had absolutely no idea she'd been a competitive swimmer since the age of four, before going into tennis and still maintained her physical conditioning for tennis through swimming.

Needless to say, by the end of the race, the boys had to do whatever the girls desired.

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><p>"Okay, every single one of these pamphlets says the cut off age for this is twelve. How'd you get them to agree to do this again, Dude?" The teenage Osmosian, fidgeted in his white prince costume as he flipped the pamphlet over his shoulder to land Lord-knows-where in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique inside Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom theme park. The comment was directed at the wielder of the Omnitrix, who donned a costume resembling Han Dynasty era Chinese battle armor, as he sat at one of the chairs in the lounge outside the salon, waiting for their girlfriends to emerge.<p>

He stopped rubbing his face in frustration to look up at the older teen, a bitter, sour look on his mien. "I promised the event coordinator to come back and do an autograph signing next month, which means that besides looking like a complete spaz today, I get to come back in a couple of weeks and get swarmed by media and twitching fans... I really have to avoid getting Julie angry, Man!"

Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, reclining against the wall while sending the younger teen a deeply commiserating look. "Either that or you can learn to gauge when she's luring you into a sucker's bet..."

Ben just buried his face in his hands again, mumbling out. "Thanks, Kev. You're always a pillar of support."

The older teen scoffed and was about to retort when he heard a distinctly feminine and familiar clearing of a throat behind him. He turned and Ben lifted his face again.

Both their jaws dropped.

Julie was done up to resemble Mulan in her 'meeting the Matchmaker' outfit. Gwen was Ariel. She was wearing a sheer full-body costume with purple seashells covering her chest and a sequined foam green tail skirt with a slit on the back for her to walk.

They both looked breathtakingly beautiful (and ridiculous in their boyfriends' minds). Of course, not even Ben was stupid enough to voice this. Heck! If they played their cards right, this could be a one heck of a memory!

Both girls came up to their respective boyfriends, Julie sitting on Ben's lap, as she spoke the last piece of her command. "Okay, Ben. Now, you have to take us both to lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table, right here in the castle. We're princesses, so you have to treat us as such for the rest of the afternoon."

The Savior of the Universe huffed out a defeated, "Fine."

His girlfriend squealed in delight as she bounced off his lap and grabbed his hand, pulling him up out of the chair and toward the exit of the boutique.

As they were exiting, he felt a sharp smack to the back of the head and turned indignant eyes to his best friend, who had an arm around his cousin's shoulders behind them. "What was that for?"

"For not swimming faster! At least, _I_ had the good sense to use _my_ God-given talents to attempt to help us win!"

Once the elbow made contact with his ribcage with nearly enough force to fracture one of the bones, the Osmosian found the merits of silence.

_FIN_

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><p><strong>AN: I know this was short, but I still wanted to get something out and the idea seemed really sweet. I hope you all liked it!**

**Please Review!**


	13. Who Doesn't Love a Parade?

**Hello Readers! I hope you are all well! I want to take a moment to thank every single person who has read favorited or reviewed this drabble. You all truly are an inspiration and a drving force in my life!XD**

**This exerpt was supposed to be based off another idea from The Indian Princess and on a very abstract level, it still is. However, she suggested the setting for it to be Mickey's ToonTown and since I was fifteen when I first went to DisneyWorld and don't have any children, I have never been to that part of the park. I can't write about a place I know nothing about. I'm sorry.**

**This one once again completely got away from me lengthwise, guys. But, you all should know by now that I have an unhealthy obssesion with Devlin. I love this child! I usually write to please my readers... this one, however... this one was for me, people!XD I'm not even ashamed to admit it!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All the characters in the Ben 10 franchise belong to MOA and Cartoon Network. Walt Disney World belongs to ©Disney. I make absolutely no profit from any of this. Please, nobody sue!**

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><p>"Daddy, this is borin'! Can we go?"<p>

The little raven-haired three-year-old held both hands up to his ears in a failing attempt to drown out both the delighted squeals of his younger cousins and the cacophony that was the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade at Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park, scrunching up his little face in an over-exaggerated show of agony. He turned large jade eyes on the man who carried him.

Kevin graced him with a look between commiseration and chastisement. "Kenny and Gwenny are loving the parade, Dev. You have to give them a chance to see what they like."

The toddler turned to look back at the baby his aunt held in her arms. Her eyes were alight with wonder as she marveled at the humongous walking brooms that were currently passing right in front of her. She was laughing her tiny head off at them. His emerald eyes then landed on the two-year-old his uncle held. The toddler brunette was struggling in his father's arms to reach his tiny chubby hand forward so that someone dressed as Stitch could touch it. Once the character shook the child's hand, he started clapping and laughing in absolute ecstasy, turning frantically to both his parents to ask if they'd seen it.

Devlin raised an irritated dark little eyebrow at the scene. Of course, they'd seen it! They weren't blind! He turned his angry eyes back to his father, huffing out petulantly. "Why do _I_ have to be here? Gwenny and Kenny are the only ones havin' any fun!" He'd actually shouted this. The kid was blessed with his father's temperament.

To his full credit, the Osmosian didn't allow his young son's tone to irk him half as much as anyone else speaking to him that way. The list of people in the Universe who got away with raising their voice to him like that could be enumerated using less than all the fingers on one hand. One such person presently occupied his arms- another had her arm around his waist and had diverted her eyes away from the passing show to listen in on the father/son exchange, once she heard the little boy's outburst.

Kevin shot his wife a quick glance before mustering up a good reserve of equanimity. He answered, sternly, "You have to be here, Devlin, because you are the oldest. You have to set a good example for your baby cousins by behaving and allowing them to have fun doing what they want to do. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean you get to be selfish and mess it up for them. So, just suck it up. It'll be over soon."

The tiny Osmosian barely sucked in a breath, before retorting heatedly and with logic far beyond that of a three-year-old, "Gwenny don't even know I'm here, Daddy! An' Kenny's only lookin' at the weirdoes! That's _dumb_!"

"Oh, God! He's exactly like you!"

The raven-haired man quirked a frustratingly annoyed eyebrow over his wife's head at his softly snickering mother, huffing out a quick, "Not helpful, Ma", before turning back to his son, his face was completely stoic now. "You know what, Kid? You're smart enough to understand that you're being a jerk for not caring what your little cousins want. You're stuck here. I don't care if you like it or not. You wanna reason why? You're three. I'm your father and I just said so!"

When Devlin opened his little mouth with the inevitable comeback, his father narrowed his onyx eyes in unequivocal threat, locking onto his emeralds. "For the love of God, don't test me, Devlin!"

In spite of the clear knowledge that his father had never so much as lifted a finger against him in his short memory, some innate sense of self-preservation or perhaps, some inherent respect ingrained in him since his birth toward the man who held him, caused the emerald-eyed toddler to recoil at the look in his father's eyes. His tiny mouth snapped shut, a fearful look flitting across his large eyes, before his little face scrunched up in belligerence once more. He brought his little arms up to petulantly wrap across his chest, turning away from both his father and everything else going on around him as he huffed out indignantly.

Kevin couldn't help the smirk that split his features at his boy's reaction. The kid had some gumption! He knew full well that he was being a selfish jerk to his little cousins, but he was still adamant about getting his way. The Osmosian was certain the kid had no idea how adorable he looked when he pouted like that. It was certainly doing nothing to sway the older man into giving into his demands.

"I swear it's hard to tell at times if he's your son or your clone! Serves you right for what_ I_ had to go through. It's a miracle that I'm not completely gray!"

The ginger brought a hand up to cover an escaping snicker. The raven-haired woman nudged her in mock chastisement, before finishing her statement at her now frowning son. "He's going to be like that for a quite a while, you know. You were one vindictive little..."

"Yeah, Ma! I know! Thanks! And in case either of you cares to know, I'm actually trying to raise him **not** to be like me." The raven-haired man defended himself in a somewhat insulted tone.

His mother simply waved a dismissive hand, turning back to the festivities ahead. "You can mold clay into whatever you want, Kevin. It'll never stop being clay. You're your father- Devlin is you. At least you both come from good stock..."

The Osmosian didn't miss the hint of sadness that crept into her voice unbidden as she finished her statement. His gaze diverted back down to the little boy in his arms, who was pointedly avoiding him by adamantly staring at the ground, his large green eyes narrowed into furious slits. That smile found its way onto his face again and he tightened his grip around the small child.

Yes. Definitely, good stock... really stubborn, good stock...

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, the parade was finally over and the crowds were dispersing on their merry way.<p>

The Savior of the Universe lifted his young son high in the air, as the toddler laughed uncontrollably. "Wasn't that fun, Kenny?"

The little brunette was gasping for breath too hard to respond as his father let him free-fall back down into his vice-like grip and turned to face the rest of their group. His green eyes settled on his nephew's obviously sullen aspect within his father's grasp and his eyebrow quirked up in question at his best friend. Kevin's response was a rather unimpressed roll of his eyes, followed by a sigh.

The older brunette smirked, making his way over to the little sulking three-year-old. He attempted to lean down far enough to look him in the eyes, but the little boy actually lowered his face further. This caused the older emerald-eyed man to emit an amused chuckle, ruffling his long raven hair affectionately. "What's got you so ticked off, Champ?"

Devlin's response was not only instant, but also so driven by uncontrolled rage that it wasn't even fully supraliminal. In the blink of an eye, his tiny hand had ignited with faint blue manna, swiping violently at the hand his uncle rubbed softly against his head. The force of the impact was actually enough to make the far stronger older man wring his hand out to stop the stinging as he looked down in shock at the tiny boy who now burned enraged matching emerald eyes into his.

The boy's father was so overwhelmingly appalled at what his son had just done; his mind couldn't even conjure a proper response. Thankfully for him and rather unfortunately for the raven-haired toddler in his arms, however, his wife's razor sharp mind suffered no such lag.

The instant she saw her son slap her cousin's hand away from him, she literally wrenched the toddler out of her husband's arms, holding him up to her eye level as she rushed him posthaste away from the rest of the group toward an unoccupied bench. None of them missed the unmistakable anger that flashed in the Anodyte's eyes right before they became ablaze with magenta, the young boy's eyes started glowing right along with hers immediately. She reached the bench, plopping down on it with her son in her lap.

_"No, no, no, no, no, Devlin! You _**_never_**_, _**_ever_**_ hit or use manna against anyone in your family! Do you understand me?" _When the little boy's glowing magenta eyes narrowed and he attempted to turn away from her, thus breaking their connection, she brought a hand up to cup his noticeably anger-reddened, chubby cheeks. As gently as she could, she forced his eyes back on hers. At this point, she was far too flustered to care if the others, who were now joining them, heard her chastising her child. "I'm not playing with you, Devlin Benjamin! If you know what's good for you, answer me!"

"I didn't want anyone touchin' me!" The toddler's choleric outburst finally came.

"I swear, Devlin... You scream at your mother just **one** more time..." Ben put a halting hand on his best friend's shoulder, pulling him back gently from leaning over both the bench and his own son menacingly. When the Osmosian snapped frantically incensed onyx eyes to meet his, the brunette only shook his head softly at him, a commiserating look on his face.

The raven-haired man shrugged the hand off, taking two steps back from the bench. He breathed in few times, raking a frustrated hand through his dark hair in an effort to rein in his temper. He inwardly thanked God that Ben was there. He really didn't want to loose it with his son... never with his boy.

The Anodyte afforded but a quick worried glance at her husband, before refocusing her attention on the brooding child on her lap. She too breathed in deeply, closing her eyes briefly to find the reticence she required to properly, word her arraignment to her child. She'd dealt with this volatile, explosive, unstable idiosyncrasy in her husband for a decade now and though she never wanted the boy to inherit it, she was certainly the best-qualified individual to deal with this particular quirk.

Once she reopened her jade eyes, they held a softer knowing look that, in spite of his anger, Devlin couldn't help but quirk a questioning little eyebrow at. He was naturally curious, after all. His expression further softened when his mother moved her hand softly up his chubby little cheek and into his hair, stroking the ever-growing raven locks lovingly.

When she spoke, her voice was still stern, but held an understated understanding. "There is never a good reason to hurt anyone who is only worried about you, Devlin. Manna hurts. Hitting people hurts... and as you get older, it will just hurt other people more and more. Is that what you wanted? Were you trying to hurt your uncle, Sweetheart?"

The toddler's brow furrowed in sincere confusion before he answered honestly in a soft voice. "I can't hurt Uncle Ben, Mommy. He's way bigger than me."

The ginger pursed her lips, nodding once at her son, before turning to regard her cousin. "Ben, did getting slapped by Devlin hurt?"

Before the twenty-five-year-old could reply, the little boy he held in his arms finally caught on to what had gotten the adults so rattled. He turned wide concerned eyes at his father. "Devy gave you an owie, Daddy?"

Ben sent a reassuring smile back at his son. "Nah, Kenny! I'm fine! See?" He held his hand up to the little boy, who grabbed the much larger appendage with both his own, seemingly examining it for signs his father was fibbing.

"Ben! A little honesty would be helpful here!"

The smile fell from the Savior of the Universe's lips as his eyes settled on his cousin's disapproving scowl, then traveled to meet the expectant gaze of the boy he considered his nephew.

He let out a defeated breath. "Jeesh! All right! It stung! So, the kid doesn't know his own strength. But, it's not like I'm loosing a digit or something over it! Plus, it's not like it's his fault he has you two's genetics! Honestly!"

Kenny couldn't understand most of what his father said, but he definitely understood what 'stung' meant. It was what bees did. He knew that hurt! His mom had told him so. That's why he wasn't supposed to mess with them. If his cousin had done what bees did when you messed with them... he did something bad to his father! The tiny brunette immediately turned narrowed incriminating eyes on his older cousin, shouting at the top of his lungs. "You hurt Daddy!"

The three-year-old's eyes widened in attritional horror at the accusation the only brother he'd ever known launched at him. Funny how this little two-year-old, who barely knew what went on around him half the time could get through to him with far more ease than all the adults here combined. Devlin's mind instantly went into overdrive trying to conjure an excuse, some reasoning, some way of getting his cousin to change that horrible condemning way he stared at him. "No, Kenny! I-I didn't! I-I can't...!"

His green eyes shot frantically between his cousin and uncle, the older man gracing him with a soft sympathetic smile, before they finally landed back on his mother. She was regarding him with that same soft knowing demeanor, only now one of her eyebrows was quirked up. "You need to apologize to your uncle, Devlin." She prodded softly, yet severely.

A mix between irritation and embarrassment flashed in his large green eyes at his mother's command. Regardless of the guilt he felt over what he did, he didn't want to actually, _apologize_ for it. Stubbornness was, after all, inherent to his psyche- thanks to his sire. The crease that appeared between his mother's pretty eyebrows, made it painfully obvious he had no say in the matter, however. He lowered his eyes to the bench beside him, mumbling out, "Sorry, Uncle Ben."

He knew it wasn't right, but Kevin couldn't help the amused, sarcastic scoff that escaped him. "Loud enough for everyone to hear you, Devlin! We all know you're capable of being way louder than that, if you feel like it!"

The oldest toddler actually had the audacity to shift a sneer his father's way.

The older raven-haired man just chuckled mirthlessly, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Seriously, Kid?"

Even at the age of three, Devlin understood the unvoiced threat in his father's baritone. He cringed briefly, before turning back to his uncle. This time his voice was much clearer, if laced with tangible resentment. "I'm sorry I hit you, Uncle Ben!

As soon as the words left his little mouth, he crossed his arms misanthropically, his emerald eyes finding the bench once more.

The boy's mother released an exasperated breath, regarding him with incredulity before chancing a pleading look up to her husband. To her growing consternation, the Osmosian was openly smirking down at his son. When their eyes met, the look his obsidian pools conveyed, simply stated, '_That's pretty much the best you're getting out of the grouchy little brat_!'

She leveled a disapproving scowl at the man she married and turned back to her moody toddler with a renewed sense of determination. "Fine, Devlin. If you want to have that snippy little attitude, then I'll tell you what... I've given you a break while we're here on vacation, but as soon as we get back to the hotel today- you and I are hitting the gym for a training session."

The three-year-old's head snapped up so quickly, it should have caused whiplash. His emerald eyes seemed to overtake every other feature on his little face as he shrieked in absolute mortification. "No, Mommy! Please! I'll be good! I promise! No trainin' here!"

As the boy's mother scrutinized him to decide whether to impose her punishment, Ben leaned over to his best friend in order to whisper worriedly in the older man's ear. "Okay, Dude. _That's_ in no way, a normal reaction to the prospect of exercising! What exactly is Gwen training the poor kid to do?"

The Osmosian shrugged and leaned toward the brunette to respond just as quietly. "The kid needs to learn control, Ben... discipline. I'm certainly not qualified to teach him that, so Gwen takes him to the gym twice a week for two hours. I honestly have absolutely no idea what she does to him, Man. All I know is that when he comes out, he's always so beat, all he wants to do is go straight to bed."

The Savior of the Universe sent him a scandalized look before whispering back harshly. "You never thought to ask your wife what she's doing to your three-year-old kid that he ends up that knocked out, Psycho?"

His answer was another shrug and easy smile from the dark man. "He's in one piece, Tennyson. That's a heck of a lot more than I can guarantee if _I_ have to teach him to hold back! I'm still trying to figure out how I'm gonna go about teaching him to control the Osmosian thing. The kid finds buttons to push that I didn't even know I had when he gets like this and he** needs** to learn control. His Anodyte abilities go berserk when he throws a tantrum. If anything, I'm eternally grateful that his mother is here to take care of this. You don't look a gift horse in the mouth, buddy."

Before the wielder of the Omnitrix could think up a good reply to that, the Osmosian moved away from him, bending over the bench to take his son in his arms once more. He grinned evilly at the slightly frowning toddler, though his tone was deathly serious. "You know what, Gwen? I have an even better punishment for Devy, here. We're not going on the Pirates of the Caribbean like he wanted."

"NO!" Was instantly chorused by three whiny, immature voices. The raven-haired man momentarily ignored the two toddlers to send an annoyed, disbelieving look at the full-grown man-child that had voiced his complaint right along with them. The brunette didn't even bother with the pretense of postpubescence. "I want to go on that, Kevin! Kenny does, too!" He punctuated the statement by pointing his disappointed, pouting son at the older man. It was as if a little child was flaunting another little child!

The man charged with the safety of this Galaxy, everybody!

The oldest member of the group stepped forth now, placing a gentle hand on her son's shoulder. She smiled up gently at him once his onyx eyes turned to her. "Ben's right, Kev. You all should go on the ride. It's not fair that everyone should be punished for Devlin's misbehaving. I'll stay behind with him... go."

"This ain't fair to me neither, Daddy! I said I'm sorry!"

Kevin rolled unimpressed eyes from his mother to land on his little boy. "Oh, and the sincerity you said it with was _so_ believable, Kid. You ain't getting away with that!" He turned back to the raven-haired woman as the toddler once more crossed his arms, pouting. He couldn't help the lop-sided smirk that adorned his demeanor again as he regarded her. He honestly found his boy adorable when he sulked like this. "You sure, you wanna deal with him when he's like this, Ma?"

Mrs. Levin let out an amused scoff, taking her grandson out of her son's grasp. Although, the three-year-old remained with his arms crossed, a resolute scowl scrunching up his little face, he let his head rest against the crook of his grandmother's neck when she began rubbing soothing circles on his back. She smiled up at her son, sending him a pointed look. "I've dealt with worse in my lifetime, Sweetheart. Can't say I handled it the best way the first time around, but I can certainly try to make amends with the younger generation."

Guilt immediately warped the august features of the Osmosian at his mother's words. Did she actually blame herself for his childhood? She was sorely mistaken!

As if reading where his train of thought was heading, the older ebony quickly remarked mirthfully, "Oh, please, Kevin! Don't look at me like that! Plenty of mistakes were made throughout your upbringing and they can't all be blamed on an emotionally unstable child who had no idea who or what he was! You're being melodramatic. I'm just grateful that you ended up semi-okay as an adult and I have this little guy to try again with. You never know. Maybe, this time around, I'll get a better end result. Leave!"

Kevin quirked a jilted dark eyebrow at the woman who'd given him life, clicking his tongue; some of that little dissertation was pretty insulting, even if she'd worded it as a joke. The joke was still at his expense.

His mother noticed. She graced him with a fictitiously innocent, saccharin smile, bringing her hand up to tap his cheek sweetly, before heading back to sit on the bench with her grandchild. She looked down at the beautiful angry little boy, calling over her shoulder. "We'll be here when you all get back."

The Japanese American, who'd finished accommodating her infant daughter in the stroller during this whole little family moment, now came to place a hand on her scowling dark friend's arm. She smiled sympathetically at him. "Don't feel bad, Kev. I read somewhere that children never really grow up in their mother's eyes.

He smiled down at her gratefully before the innocuous gesture turned devious. "Why exactly are you with Ben again, Julie? You're aware that you really married down, right?"

"Hey! I'm standing right here, Dude!"

The little ebony giggled, bringing the stroller around to start walking in the direction of their next destination. She passed her husband, who was still glaring at his best friend and couldn't help remarking, "I decided to be charitable. It's pathetic how helpless he is without me."

The brunette instantly turned on her, catching up to her stride with his son in his arms. Affront was clear in his tenor. "Okay. Ha, ha! So, it's 'make Ben a target day', now?" All he received in response was another bout of giggles.

The Anodyte snickered softly at the retreating couple, bending down on her haunches before her son. He still didn't meet her gaze as she placed a soft kiss to his little cheek. She sighed shortly, commanding, "You behave for Grandma while we're gone, Dev. I know you don't like this, but you need to learn that this kind of behavior just isn't okay, baby."

When the toddler turned his face fully, burying his nose in the older woman's clavicle with a huff, the ginger rose to her feet, releasing a resigned breath. She found comfort in the strong arms her husband wrapped around her waist from behind as he approached the bench.

The raven-haired woman nuzzled the three-year-old's forehead with her cheek, sending his parents a commiserating smile. "I told you. Levins are as obstinate as they come. You would stay mad longer than you could even remember what you were angry at in the first place when you were this age, Kevin."

"Yeah! That's definitely not gonna happen with Dev, Ma. The kid remembers everything! Trust me. Weird thing is that I actually think he gets it from Ben, of all people. He'll stay mad until he finds something more interesting to draw his attention. If you need anything, we're a call away, okay." With those final words, he pulled his redhead away in the direction the Tennysons had gone.

* * *

><p>A half hour later, Mrs. Levin still sat at the bench awaiting the return of her group. She diverted her eyes away from the story she read on her tablet to look down somewhat worriedly at the somber three-year-old, who now used her thigh as a pillow as he watched the people pass by. He'd grown tired of his position on her lap about twenty five minutes ago and decided to lay down instead. He hadn't spoken a single word, however, and the silence was starting to unnerve the older woman.<p>

"You know, Devy, I'm not the one you're mad at. Some conversation would be nice... Your videogame is in my purse. Would you like to play a little? Your parents don't have to find out." All she received in response was a rustling against her thigh, correlating with the toddler shaking his little head.

"Wow! Tough room!" She huffed under her breath.

"I hope you don't find this too forward of me, Miss, but your son is absolutely adorable!"

The raven-haired woman jolted slightly at the unfamiliar voice, staring up beside her to regard a man in his early fifties. He had unusually light gray eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses and a rather healthy build for a man his age. However, the way he smiled at her, eying her as if he could see through her clothes- was seriously creeping her out. Not to mention, she had to pointedly, avoid looking too far up on the man's face. His all too obvious toupee was simply too distracting.

Harvey had been bald, but he was nowhere near vain enough to wear a rug! This man was growing less impressive the longer she looked at him.

Before she could respond in an amicably dismissive manner to his poorly masked pickup line, she found her previously prone grandson had beaten her to it. "She's too old to be my mommy. Maybe, your glasses are broken." The older woman had to bring a hand up to her mouth to cover up her snort.

The aspiring suitor narrowed his eyes at the toddler, his smile growing ambidextrous as he rolled his eyes away from the child, settling them once more on his target.

Devlin sat up straighter to send the man his best sneer, though at three, it wasn't particularly intimidating. This guy was really rubbing him the wrong way. The guy didn't even bother looking at him when it was obvious to the toddler it was him he directed his next statement at. "No need to throw a hissy fit, young man. I just thought your lovely baby-sitter here would like to join me for dinner tonight?"

The raven-haired woman did her best to suppress the disgusted shudder the prospect of walking even three feet in any direction with this man evoked, plastering a fake congenial smile on her face while responding, "Actually, I'm here with my son and his family... my schedule is pretty full. I'm sorry, though."

The older man was in no way deterred by her obvious rejection. "Oh, I'm certain they can manage one night without your company- regardless how amazing I'm certain that company must be!" His smile became so suggestive at this point, the ebony felt the need to bring her arms up to wrap over her chest. He was making her feel so exposed... so uncomfortable.

Her frazzled expression did not go unnoticed by the uniquely perceptive toddler at her side. His under-developed emotional level interpreted her expression as serious distress instead of mild annoyance, however. He instantly turned blazing green eyes on the offensive intruder. "Hey! I don't care how bad your glasses are! My grandma doesn't like you! Leave her alone!"

The older man smiled unpleasantly now, coming to stand directly in front of the three-year-old. He bent down on his haunches in order to lock his life-less gray eyes with those of the sneering child. His voice had an unmistakable spite to it that caused the boy's grandmother to bring an arm around him protectively. "Children should know better than interrupting the conversation of their elders, child. You have obviously been taught no manners."

Both the raven-haired little boy and his outraged grandmother had colorful rebuttals to that statement prepared, but neither had the chance to voice them once the dark man that had come to stand directly behind the kneeling moron with his best friend directly beside him spoke, causing both their eyes to shoot up to him in unhidden relief. "Is there a problem here, Ma?"

"Daddy! This mean man with the weird thing on his head won't leave Grandma alone!"

Both Ben and Kevin started snickering at Devlin's amazingly accurate description of the man's hairpiece. It wasn't polite, but their wives weren't around to scold them about it, so...

The aforementioned huffed out an affronted breath, rising to his full stature while continuing to sneer at the toddler. "The boy is obviously confused." He began turning to finish his statement facing his trophy's son. "I merely wished to-" His statement cut-off there, upon his realization that he only came face to neck with the man he was speaking to and said neck was as thick as his entire head with muscle. His eyes widened, shooting down briefly to seize up the rest of this man, noting the very disconcerting reality that he was built like an armored truck. The shoulders of the chestnut-haired man standing beside him actually seemed even broader (if that was even possible) and he looked as wracked with muscle as the latter.

He swallowed thickly, backpedaling. "Hey, look buddy, I'm not looking for trouble. I just thought the lady was pretty and hoped she'd go out with me, that's all."

Mrs. Levin was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this situation. Who she dated was never a topic of conversation between her and her son. No one ever lived up to the Osmosian's elevated standards for her. The truth was: no one was Devin Levin and only _he_ was good enough for her in her boy's mind. Even at twenty-six and with his own family, he begrudged the family he'd lost as a child. Therefore, she kept him pretty much in the dark about every relationship she'd been involved in since her divorce from Harvey.

Having this loser tell her son that he found her attractive now must've been astronomically awkward for him. For this reason, she was shocked beyond words when Kevin simply quirked an intrigued dark eyebrow at the man, never diverting his onyx eyes from him while directing his next inquiry at her in a completely emotionless intonation. "You feel like goin' out with this guy, Ma?"

Her response was instantaneous, though worded as politely as possible in an attempt to spare the man's ego. "I've already explained to the nice gentleman that my schedule is full, Kevin. I simply have no time for such things."

The Osmosian nodded once in indication he'd understood her. He leaned down slightly, narrowing his eyes at the now grimacing older man. His tone now tinged with warning. "I don't think she's into you, Dude..."

The older man fumbled over an apology, tripping over his own feet to make a hasty retreat towards whatever rock he'd crawled up from under.

Ben, Devlin and Kevin followed him with glaring eyes until he was out of their line of sight.

"What are all you boys staring at?" The Anodyte snickered upon arriving with the Japanese-American to find her boys and her cousin all gazing at some random spot in the distance.

She handed her little boy the ice cream shaped like Mickey's head she'd stopped off to get him as the toddler eagerly exclaimed, "Some weirdo with a dead kitty on his head was bothering Grandma and Daddy scared him away, Mommy! It was so cool! You shoulda seen it!"

The ginger shot a questioning look at her excited three-year-old, who innocently bit into his ice cream. Then, she regarded her mother-in-law, husband and cousin with a similar expression, as all three seemed to be choking due to their laughter. She was obviously out of the loop, here. She decided to direct her inquiry at her husband. "A man with a dead kitty on his head...?"

The adorable befuddled expression his redhead wore to ask the question did nothing to mitigate the dark-haired man's humor so he had to choke out between bouts of laughter. "Dude was wearing the cheapest rug ever, Gwen!"

For the sake of setting a good example for her son, the redhead made a valiant attempt at a chastising look at her husband, while trying to keep a snicker from escaping before turning back to her son. She schooled her semblance into controlled stoicism. "It isn't nice to make fun of someone's physical appearance, Devlin."

The toddler's dark little brows knit together in honest, innocent confusion. "I'm not making fun of him, Mommy. That's just what it looked like. It looked like a kitty fell asleep or died on his head."

At this point, even Julie was laughing. She could picture the guy's toupee clearly.

Gwen let out a defeated breath turning back to her still snickering husband. "You want to lend a hand, here?"

The Osmosian just shrugged, bending over to take his boy into his arms. He smirked at her lopsidedly, replying, "Actually, he gets a free ride on that one from me, Gwen. The jerk was harassing Ma and the kid honestly has no idea what that thing on his head was-"

"**_I_** don't know what that thing on the freak's head was!" The Savior of the Universe supplied helpfully, still catching his breath. He ignored his cousin's recriminating glare, heading over to the stroller to pick up his son.

Kevin snorted mirthfully, directing the end of his statement at his young son. "I heard you stick up for your grandma, Dev. Good job looking out. Where do you want to go next?"

The little boy didn't even hesitate a second to think about it. "Splash Mountain!" He squealed excitedly.

His father couldn't help chuckle at his effervescence as he shook his head. "You're too little to go on that, Kid."

The three-year-old shook his head vigorously at his father as he responded matter-of-factually. "Na-uh, Daddy! We passed it a little bit ago and I stood wear they were checkin' to see how big you gotta be to go on it and I was big enough."

The raven-haired man found he didn't really have a rebuttal to that. The kid _did_ look closer to seven or eight than three. He shot his wife a brief pleading look. The ginger simply quirked an amused manicured eyebrow in response as if saying '_This one's all yours, Dad_'. Kevin frowned at her before turning back to his son. "Okay, Dev. Let me reword that. Kenny can tell when **_you_** leave him behind to go on rides but **_he's_** not tall enough to go on that yet. You just felt what it's like to get left behind. Do you really want to do that to your little cousin?"

The oldest toddler ventured a look at the little brunette who was in his father's arms happily eating his ice cream, managing to get more of it on his clothes and face than in his mouth.

He grimaced in disgust.

His baby cousin was such a pain half the time. He was gross. His hands were always sticky. He somehow always managed to break one of his toys when he came over to play. He loved bugging him and embarrassing him. Moreover, what was worse, he was tiny! The toddler couldn't imagine how long it would even take someone that little to grow big enough to ride _anything_ really fun in this park!

Then, right before he turned back to tell his father how much he cared if they even lost the two-year-old in this place, the little brunette lost his grip on the stick that held his ice cream, causing the whole thing to topple to the ground. His big almond shaped green eyes started watering, his tiny lower lip quivering in a prelude to what promised to be a ponderous crying fit.

Without even thinking, Devlin shot out the chubby hand that still held his half eaten ice-cream toward his cousin, shrieking frantically to gain his attention. "Here, Kenny! I don't want any more! Just don't cry!"

The little brunette's aspect morphed instantly to eager expectance as he reached out for the proffered treat. His father let out a chuckle, setting him down on the ground so he could make his own way to his uncle.

Kevin set Devlin down, as well. The raven-haired child extended the ice-cream as far in front of him as he could for his cousin to take it. He really didn't want the kid touching him until Aunt Julie cleaned him up.

Of course, the younger toddler had absolutely no compunction as to his older cousin's discomfort with his eating habits or hygiene. Therefore, as soon as he popped the ice cream in his mouth, he did what came completely natural to him.

He gave his best friend a bear hug.

"Ugh! Kenny, gross! Get off me! Uncle Ben, Daddy... get 'im off! He's gettin' goo all over me! Get off, Kenny!" The older toddler's large emerald eyes locked onto the older men pleadingly as he tried frantically to pry the little brunette off as best he could. However, the task was seriously hindered by his reluctance to actually touch him. He couldn't find an area on him that wasn't sticky to get the proper leverage.

Julie giggled, bringing an arm up to wrap around her husband's waist. "He's only showing his gratitude to you, Dev. It's really sweet."

Devlin shot the most skeptical look he could muster at his aunt. This kid really had his entire family fooled! "Aunt Julie, he can **say** 'thanks'! He's doin' this just 'cause he knows it bugs me! Why do you guys think he won't let go?" He looked back down menacingly at his best friend, what little patience he possessed growing short. "Get off, Kenny!"

Realizing at this point that he would be just about ready to deck the kid if he was in his son's place, (and let's be honest, considering their similarities in personalities- he may as well have been), Kevin wisely leaned down to separate his son from the little brunette. His onyx eyes narrowed suspiciously at the two-year-old when he let go the moment he saw him crouch before them, a humongous innocent smile lighting up his little face before he ran back giggling to hide behind his father's legs.

The Osmosian continued scrutinizing the tiny toddler that seemed to be trying to play peek-a-boo with him from behind his father's legs. He was positively adorable and seemed completely aware of the fact. Was this kid actually so shrewd as to _pretend_ to be out of it just to get away with messing with his son? Ben pretended to be an idiot whenever it suited his purposes. Had this kid inherited his father's ingenuity?

His amused introspection was interrupted by his son's aggravated, disgruntled protest. "Eeeww! Kenny, you got gunk all over me! Mommy, can you clean this stuff off?" He turned an angrily arched eyebrow at his father as the ginger bent down with a moistened wipe to clean him as best she could, still snickering. "Okay. If I can't go on Splash Mountain 'cause he's too little, let's go on the Jungle Boat ride... But, I'm _not_ lookin' at another parade!"

The Osmosian chuckled, lifting him back up in his arms and walking away in the direction of the next ride with his wife in tow. "Sounds fair to me, Squirt..."

After the group had moved about ten yards away from the bench, Devlin realized his hands still felt dirty from touching Kenny. He looked back over his father's shoulder to send a scowl at the little chestnut-haired boy.

To his ever-growing aggravation, the two-year-old actually had the audacity to venture a quick look at his parents, both of whom seemed too engrossed in conversation to notice what the toddler was doing within the older brunette's arms, before sticking out his tongue mockingly at his older cousin.

The now enraged three-year-old immediately directed an indignant and far too clever question at his sire. "Okay! So, if Kenny's too little to ride the good stuff here... How old does he have to be for me to hit 'im?"

It took all of a split second for the Osmosian's dry reply to come. "You can hit him when he's five."

"Kevin!" Was instantly chorused by every adult in the group in outrage. To which the ginger added dangerously. "You want to rephrase that?"

The raven-haired man quirked a thoughtful thick dark eyebrow at her before turning to his son. "You can't hit him hard enough to cause any real damage, though- just hard enough it hurts."

"Dude! Are you serious? Don't tell your kid he can hit mine! What kind of parent **are** you?"

Kevin leveled a sinister smirk at his best friend before responding flatly. "An acutely astute one, Tennyson. Your son takes after you way too much. He's only two and he's already figured out exactly how to play you. Consider it a generosity that I'm willing to allow the runt three more years to develop some mass and Devlin some self control before I let them handle their problems on their own."

With that, the older man turned with his equally sinisterly smirking three-year-old and continued his trek toward their next destination.

The Savior of the Universe turned confused eyes down to lock with the large almond emeralds of his innocently grinning little boy before shooting a frantic look at his cousin. "You're aware that you married a complete lunatic, right!"

Gwen snickered softly, turning to follow her husband and child. She shot back over her shoulder. "That's a given, Ben. But, as the man said, I married an acutely astute one!"

_FIN_

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><p><strong>AN: Yay! I'm not dead! Just really distracted, busy and in poor health! Also, I just bought the first 'Hunger Games' book and finished it in like nine hours. That thing is EPIC!XD I know this is long, but I have no idea when I can get another one out, so it has to last... I'll try to make the wait as short as possible, though.**

**Please Review!**


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